labels: economy - general, it news
WEF report; Developing countries lead in ICT access news
Our Economic Bureau
27 January 2004

The World Economic Forum (WEF) report titled 'Global diffusion of ICT,' excerpts of which are carried in MAIT's newsletter of January 2004, is an objective record of the spread of info-communication technology (ICT) throughout the developing and developed world. Significantly the report has lauded China's progress in this sector.

According to the report, the growth of cellular mobile telephone subscribers and the increase in the number of internet users has been the highest in the last three years.

The report adds that of the 6.2 billion people in the world, 1 in every 5 people is a cellular mobile subscriber, against only 1 in every 12 people three years ago. Also in the same period cellular mobile telephone subscribers grew by 134 per cent against the number of telephone landlines which grew by merely 21 per cent.

This means globally 662 million new subscribers started using cellular mobile telephones while only 192 million people acquired new telephone landlines. With these new users, the number of cellular mobile subscribers at 1.15 billion outstripped the 1.10 billion landlines in operation

Surprisingly, a large proportion of the improvement in ICT diffusion came from among the most populous countries of the world — China and India — rather than the developed west..

In the three year period 1999-2002, lead with not only the highest increase in the number of landlines but also cellular mobile subscribers, television receivers and cable television subscribers. China also had the second highest increase in the number of Internet users and the fifth highest increase in the number of personal computers.

While China added 106 million landlines, India, followed in the second place with 15 million. Likewise, China added 163 million cellular mobile telephone subscribers, while the United States followed with 55 million. Similarly, China had 36 million new cable television while Japan, with the second highest increase, added 6 million subscribers, one sixth of China's figure.

In terms of internet users the number has risen exponentially (119 per cent) over the last few years. Since 1999, the world has added 329 million more internet users, bringing the estimated number of global internet users to 605 million in 2002. This means that 10 per cent or 1 person in every 10 in the world is an internet user. According to the report, the total number of internet users in the world exceed the number of personal computers.

In 2002, there were 550 million personal computers in the world, up 40 per cent from around 400 million in 1999. Of the developed and most populous economies of the world, the United States, Japan, and Germany posted the highest increases in ownership of personal computers.

The United States, the third most populous country in the world, added the highest number of Internet users and personal computers at 53 million and 37 million respectively. Japan, the ninth most populous country, had the third highest increase in the number of internet users and personal computers, while Germany, the 12th most populous country in the world, posted the third highest increase in cellular mobile telephone subscribers, the fourth highest increase in Internet users, personal computers, cable television subscribers, and home satellite antennas and the fifth highest increase in main telephone lines in operation.

The report says that in internet penetration, Iceland takes the lead with 61 per cent of its population having internet access followed by Liechtenstein, Sweden, and Republic of Korea with internet penetration rates of 58 per cent, 57 per cent, and 55 per cent of the population, respectively.

Singapore, with an internet penetration of 54 per cent of its population, stands out as having the highest household internet penetration.


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WEF report; Developing countries lead in ICT access