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International Telecommunication Union
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ITU World Telecommunication Development Report
2003
Measures Access to the Information Society
Monitors Impact of ICTs on Global Development Goals
23 e-Indicators Included to Overcome the Digital and Statistical
Divide
Geneva, 4 December 2003 — A lack
of timely and comparable data on access to information and communication
technologies (ICTs) is a major barrier to understanding the depth and causes of
the digital divide or a gap in ICT access within and between richer and poorer
nations. This is especially relevant given that global leaders are gathering
next week for the first World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) to boost
ICT access in underserved economies and forge ways so that powerful ICT tools
can serve higher socio-economic goals.
"A close link exists between the digital and statistical
divide", says Michael Minges, Head of the Market, Economics and Finance
Unit at ITU and lead author of the report. Sixty per cent of all Internet user
surveys are carried out in the world’s wealthiest economies, for example,
while in the 59 poorest economies, not a single Internet user survey has been
conducted. Countries that understand their ICT situation have also identified
their strengths and weaknesses and adopted appropriate policies. In the Republic
of Korea, for example, detailed analysis of computer and Internet use match the
country’s rapid transformation into an information society.
To help governments overcome this data divide, the
newly-released World Telecommunication Development Report (WTDR) offers the
world’s first comprehensive toolkit on how to measure access to ICTs.
Useful examples that can guide governments seeking ways to
harness ICTs tool for development are highlighted in the report, which was
compiled by the International Telecommunication Union. It also shows how ICTs
can foster achievement of the United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals, or
goals set by heads of state in 2000 to alleviate poverty, disease, hunger and
other pressing social problems.
The report includes 23 e-ITU indicators based on findings from
analyses, surveys and existing data (Table 1).
This basic statistics list provides a global norm for compiling comparable data
to track the emerging global information society.
The report also highlights national digital divides that exist
within businesses, schools and governments around the world. In Chile, 93 per
cent of large businesses have Internet access, higher than the European Union
average. But the corresponding figure in small Chilean firms is only 37 per
cent. While Mexico’s top secondary schools provide one computer for every 12
students—better than Germany, where the figure is one to 14—the
corresponding ratio for Mexico’s bottom quartile of schools is 59 students for
every computer. Government access to ICTs—the sector where indicators are
least standardized and available—shows similar disparities. In Peru, 81 per
cent of central government agencies have access to the Internet while only 21
per cent of local government offices have such access.
ICTs: A tool to meet the Millennium Development Goals
ITU’s effort to identify indicators for measuring ICT access
reflects a growing trend by the international community towards the use of
transparent and concrete measures for monitoring country performance. The United
Nations adopted a set of development targets, the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)
in 2000 to track progress towards the reduction of poverty, hunger and other
pressing areas. Access to ICTs is included in the MDGs and pinpointed in Target
18: "In cooperation with the private sector make available the benefits of
new technologies, especially information and communication."
"Of all the MDG targets, most progress was achieved with
number 18 over the 1990s", says Esperanza Magpantay, a Statistical Officer
at ITU and a co-author of the report. Fixed and mobile telephone networks (total
teledensity) have grown more dramatically over the last decade across the
developing world than in the entire period before that date. A standout is East
Asia (which includes China), where total teledensity levels in 2002 were more
than 24 times higher than ten years prior.
ICTs are powerful tools to meet the Millennium Development
Goals. Numerous success stories circulate about ICTs dramatically improving and
even saving lives. Such accounts raise awareness but also need to be translated
into indicators to measure the impact of ICTs within and across countries.
Although frameworks to determine the socio-economic benefits of ICTs are in
their infancy, the Report proposes specific indicators that could help gauge the
impact of ICTs on specific MDGs.
Take Goal 2 of the MDGs, which is to ‘Achieve universal
primary education’. Based on Nepalese experience, the report suggests tracking
the number of primary school teachers trained by ICT-based education. In
2001, 4’430 primary school teachers were trained in Nepal using radio-based
distance education. Since the current student-to-teacher ratio is 40, an
additional 176’616 primary school students could be enrolled through this
initiative, thus boosting net primary school enrolment rate by 5.7 per cent.
(For further examples see Table 2).
Measuring World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS)
goals
The draft action plan of the World Summit on the Information
Society proposes ten goals focusing on ICT access, targeted at achievement by
2015. The report shows that many of these targets are, or could soon be met in
terms of infrastructure availability. So, while most of the world’s
inhabitants will, in theory, have access to most ICTs in the future, their
ability to use ICTs will depend largely on knowledge and affordability. Around
95 per cent of the world’s population, for example, is covered by terrestrial
radio broadcast signals, 89 per cent are covered by television service and 81
per cent of the world’s population have access to either a mobile cellular
signal, a telephone in their home or live within walking distance of telephone
service.
Harmonizing statistics and carrying out surveys
While some developed nations are racing ahead in information
society measurement and tracking many factors including infrastructure, access
and usage, most developing nations are struggling to produce even basic
indicators. "The number of Internet users in most developing countries is
usually based on government guesstimates or vague estimates", says Vanessa
Gray, ITU Telecom Analyst and a co-author of the report.
When developing nations do conduct surveys, they are finding
the number of Internet users has often been vastly underestimated. This is
confirmed by recent Internet user surveys emerging from Latin America and the
Caribbean. In Jamaica, for example, an Internet user survey pointed to 23 per
cent of the population using the Internet, while the penetration rate before the
survey was estimated at only five per cent. A similar phenomenon occurred in
Peru, with a survey finding twice as many Internet users in the Capital (Lima)
alone than had been previously estimated for the entire country. In Mexico, a
recent Internet survey also found twice as many users than earlier estimates.
These findings suggest that the digital divide may not be as wide in some places
as earlier assumed.
While there are few Internet surveys for developing nations,
richer nations are over-surveyed with often conflicting results. At least six
Internet user surveys have been conducted in Spain, for example, producing
figures ranging from over 50 to less than 20 per cent of the population being
online. Internet penetration levels compiled by national statistical offices in
Europe are, on average, thirteen per cent below those published by market
research organizations.
Statistical compendium
The report also features the new ITU Digital Access Index
(DAI) to measure the overall ability of individuals in a country to access and
use new ICTs. The index uses eight indicators to rank 178 countries, which makes
it the first truly global ICT index. The DAI can be used to benchmark country
performance, measure the digital divide and track MDG target 18. See the release
issued 19 November 2003.
A 100-page statistical annex covering a range of data for 182
economies in 20 statistical tables is also included in the report. These
"World Telecommunication Indicators" include data such as the number
of telephone subscribers, television households and Internet users. The report
is also a practical toolkit with dozens of definitions and examples of
indicators used to measure access to ICTs, plus examples of model surveys that
governments can use to improve their statistical practices.
Finally, the report proposes several suggestions to overcome
the statistical divide:
- Countries can improve their statistical landscape by
conducting surveys, compiling statistics and making them readily available.
Australia, for example, has a "Measures of a knowledge-based economy
and society" portal.
- Government agencies involved in ICTs must work closely with
national statistical offices. The communications ministry of Chile, for
example, regularly compiles and produces analytical reports on data
collected by the national statistical agency.
- Transparency, clarity, timeliness and relevance are
critical to harmonize statistics. Governments need to look to other
countries and draw on existing experiences for questionnaires and surveys.
- Developed countries and multilateral agencies should assist
developing nations to compile ICT indicators by providing technical
assistance and material resources. In 2004, ITU will hold several
statistical workshops to provide such assistance. With five other
international agencies, ITU also co-organized a statistical meeting on
monitoring the information society just prior to WSIS.
- Mechanisms to meet national monitoring targets should
include the creation of a global information society portal, with links to
country-level ICT statistics, model surveys and other relevant material.
Table 1: The e-ITU indicators
1 |
Percentage of households with electricity |
13 |
Student to computer ratio |
2 |
Percentage of households with a radio |
14 |
Percentage of schools with Internet access |
3 |
Percentage of households with a television |
15 |
Percentage of government offices with Internet access |
4 |
Percentage of households with a telephone |
16 |
Percentage of government offices with a website |
5 |
Percentage of households with a personal computer |
17 |
Percentage of government employees with Internet access |
6 |
Percentage of households with Internet access |
18 |
Main telephone lines per 100 inhabitants |
7 |
Percentage of population covered by mobile telephony |
19 |
Mobile cellular subscribers per 100 inhabitants |
8 |
Percentage of population that use a computer |
20 |
Internet access tariff (20 hours/month) as percentage of
per capita income |
9 |
Percentage of population with access to the Internet |
21 |
International Internet bandwidth per inhabitant |
10 |
Percentage of businesses with computers |
22 |
Broadband subscribers per 100 inhabitants |
11 |
Percentage of businesses with Internet access |
23 |
Internet users per 100 inhabitants |
12 |
Percentage of businesses with a website |
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Table 2: How ICTs can impact the MDGs
Selected examples
MDG |
Indicator |
Impact |
Goal 1. Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger |
Increase in income from ICTs |
A 1999 study of Village Pay Phone (VPP) owners in
Bangladesh found that profits from providing phone service constitutes 24%
of these households’ total income. |
Goal 2. Achieve universal primary education |
Primary school teachers trained by ICT-based education |
In Nepal, 4’430 people were trained as primary school
teachers using radio-based distance education in 2001. Based on the
current student-to-teacher ratio of 40, an additional 176’616 new
primary school students could be enrolled once these teachers complete
their training. This would raise the net primary school enrolment rate
5.7%. |
Goal 3. Promote gender equality and empower women |
Females enrolled in ICT-based education as percentage of
total female tertiary enrolment |
Open Learning Australia (OLA) offers higher education
through a combination of distance and on-line teaching. In 2002, there
were 6’129 students enrolled in OLA of which 56.9% were female. This is
higher share than in overall higher education (54.9%). As a result of OLA
enrolment, female tertiary school enrolment is 0.8% higher. |
Goal 4. Reduce child mortality |
Percentage of parents of small children using ICT-based
health tools |
Baby CareLink is a telemedicine program for parents of
infants in the United States. A 1997-99 evaluation of 56 patients found
those parents who used Baby CareLink reported a 10% higher quality of care
than those who did not use Baby CareLink. |
Goal 5. Improve maternal health |
Percentage of maternal health workers using ICTs |
A July 1999 evaluation of a maternal health project in
the Tororo district of Uganda based on radio technology, found that
maternal mortality dropped 50%. |
Goal 6. Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases |
Percentage of adult population adopting health lifestyle
after exposure to ICT-based health information |
A September 1998 evaluation of an
entertainment-education radio soap opera on HIV prevention in St. Lucia
found that condom imports rose 143% after the program was aired. |
Goal 7. Ensure environmental sustainability |
Teleworkers as percentage of total in employment |
There are 38’700 teleworkers in Ireland (2.3% of total
in employment). As a result, CO2 emissions from car use are 2%
less. If all those in Ireland who say their job lends itself to
teleworking (28% of total employment) could telework, there would be a 30%
reduction in CO2 emissions. |
For more information contact indicators@itu.int.
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