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SDG 9 · Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure Try SDG 1 free →

SDG 9 · Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure

The signal reaches 96% of the world. A quarter of people still aren't online.

Eco Heroes turns that fact into a story an 8-year-old can hold onto: The Maths Game, book 9 of 17 in the SDG Library.

The target, in plain language

What the UN actually promised

Target 9.c

Significantly increase access to information and communications technology and strive to provide universal and affordable access to the Internet in least developed countries by 2020.

The 2020 deadline passed with the job unfinished. In 2025, only 34 per cent of people in the least developed countries were online.

Target 9.1 asks for quality, reliable, sustainable and resilient infrastructure (roads, power, water and digital networks) with affordable and equal access for all.

Why it matters

The number behind the story

96%
of the world's population is covered by mobile broadband Coverage isn't connection: in 2025, only about three quarters of people were actually online.

Source: The Sustainable Development Goals Report 2026, UN DESA. Figures as published in July 2026.

The story

The Maths Game

The Maths Game, SDG 9 book cover

The Maths Game

Written by Ricardo Alcántara (Premio Lazarillo) · Illustrated by Eva Sánchez Gómez

Book 9 of 17 in the Eco Heroes SDG Library, one illustrated story for each UN Sustainable Development Goal. Unlocked with any Eco Heroes plan (families from €79 a year), and every plan starts with a free month. Published in English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese and Catalan.

Bring it into the room

Talk about it, try it

Discuss

One question to ask after reading

“If you could keep only one invention, which would it be? And who in the world still doesn't have it?”

Try it: 15 minutes

Invent a fix

In pairs, pick one everyday problem at school or on your street and sketch an invention that solves it using only things you could find nearby. Pitch it in 60 seconds.

Seventeen goals, seventeen stories

Every SDG gets its own illustrated book, its own facts and its own activities. SDG 1 is always free. The rest unlock with a family, school or hotel plan.

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