Journal of Information Organization Sulaiman Alriyaee 16 3 2026 https://doi.org/10.6025/jio/2026/16/3/139-163 https://www.dline.info/jio/fulltext/v16n3/jiov16n3_3.pdf Digital transformation has elevated ICT skills to a foundational capability for economic participation and social inclusion, yet existing frameworks rarely examine the internal structure of digital competencies. This study addresses that gap by constructing an empirically grounded four regime typology of ICT skills polarisation based on the relative prevalence of basic versus above basic communication and collaboration competencies across 49 countries. Drawing on the ITU ICT_SKLS_COM_CB indicator, the analysis integrates descriptive inequality metrics (Gini coefficient, median absolute deviation, interquartile range, and a composite inequality index), principal component analysis, and dual clustering algorithms (K-means and hierarchical Ward). Results reveal a pronounced structural polarisation: above basic skills are, on average, 4.63 times more prevalent than basic skills, with an absolute gap of approximately 53 percentage points. Principal component analysis confirms that this basic-versus-above-basic contrast constitutes the dominant axis of cross country variation, explaining 88.51% of total variance. The resulting four regime typology Low inequality (1 country), Moderate inequality (3 countries), High inequality (16 countries), and Very high inequality (29 countries) is robust across clustering algorithms (Adjusted Rand Index = 0.853) and multiple validation criteria. Critically, 91.8% of countries exhibit large positive gaps, indicating that structural polarisation rather than uniform skill scarcity is the prevailing global pattern. The typology offers policymakers a regime specific diagnostic tool and informs higher education curriculum design by demonstrating the inadequacy of average attainment metrics for capturing digital skills inequality.