People in South Korea have easy access to the Internet regardless of their age, income and educational backgrounds, showing the smallest digital divide in the world, a U.S. research center said Sunday.

According to the survey on 45,435 people in 40 nations conducted by the Pew Research Center, South Koreans aged between 18 and 34 all had access to the Internet, while the corresponding figure for the elderly was 92 percent. 

The gap is far below the 14 percentage points in the United States and 33 percentage points in Japan.

The divide between different educational and income levels was 9 percentage points and 10 percentage points, respectively, the lowest among the surveyed nations, the center said.

The Internet usage gap between different educational and age groups in the United States was over 10 percent. In China, the difference between educational backgrounds was 43 percentage points, it noted. (Yonhap)