In 2025, large-scale internet outages cost the global economy $19.7 billion
According to Interesting Engineering, which compiled relevant statistics, more than 200 internet disruptions occurred across 28 countries last year, affecting approximately 800 million people. At the same time, internet disruptions lasted for a total of over 120,000 hours. This was reported by dev.ua, as cited by the Prompolitinform portal.
The publication emphasizes that prolonged internet shutdowns are rarely just technical issues; they are mostly caused by political decisions made by local governments during periods of unrest, elections, or conflicts.
Overall, journalists estimate that internet shutdowns worldwide cost economies nearly $53 billion between 2020 and 2024.
Meanwhile, in January 2026, UNESCO warned about disruptions in internet access, reporting more than 300 shutdowns across 54 countries over the past two years. According to these data, 2024 became the worst year in terms of shutdown numbers since 2016.
Recent examples include the Taliban’s implementation of internet shutdowns in Afghanistan between September and October 2025. In Nepal, in September 2025, amid political unrest, officials blocked 26 social media platforms and messaging apps.
Internet access was also heavily restricted in Cameroon during the presidential elections in October 2025.
Read also: Moscow without internet, air travel, and cash ahead of May 9: how Russia is preparing for the “celebration” of May 9
Meanwhile, the longest internet shutdown in history is currently ongoing in Iran — residents have been without internet for more than two months.
Interestingly, in Ukraine, there are occasional calls for radical measures as well, such as shutting down the internet during air raid alerts due to wartime risks. This debate has long been ongoing within Ukraine’s tech community.
Photo from open sources
