Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) have bet big on digital government: online portals, mobile apps, one-stop platforms. The region’s public services are increasingly just a click away. On paper, the story is one of modernization, efficiency, and progress. But a closer look at the daily reality of most citizens reveals a different picture. For the majority, interacting with government still means the same thing it always has: costly trips, long lines, and endless waiting.

In practice, the benefits of digital government are not reaching everyone equally. The citizens who face the greatest barriers to accessing public services—older adults, lower-income populations, rural residents, people with disabilities, and historically excluded groups—are also among the least likely to use digital channels.

This matters because the gap between digital and in-person government services is enormous. Completing a government transaction online takes around 40 minutes on average. Doing it in person takes around six hours. Yet nearly half of citizens in LAC still complete their most recent government transaction in person. As governments continue to digitize services, unequal access risks reinforcing existing inequalities instead of reducing them.

Who is actually using digital public services? What explains the divide? And what can we do about it? As the IDB book ¿(Des)conectados? Servicios públicos digitales y el reto de la equidad (“(Dis)Connected? Digital Public Services and the Equity Challenge”) shows, drawing on fresh survey evidence from 11 countries across the region, expanding digital government is not enough. Targeted policies are needed to help those being left behind.

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