INFORMATION, SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
References current situation
(latest available data)
The gap is widening faster
Better situation
recent evolution (Betw een most recent and previous avail able data)
g d
Above average Below average Worse situation
h
e f
Significant progress Slight progress Stagnant Regression Major regression
Complete table at: www.socialwatch.org/statistics2009 Summary:
Countries
current situation (colour)
(Basic Capabilities Index value, 0-100)
Internet users (per 1,000 people)
Personal computers (per 1,000 people)
Telephone mainlines (per 1,000 people)
ICT expenditure (% of GDP)
R&D expenditure (% of GDP)
Value
Recent Evolution (arrow-icon) g g f g g g g g f g g f g g f f g e f f g g f f g g g g f g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g
Albania (96) Algeria (96) American Samoa (—) Andorra (93) Angola (58) Antigua and Barbuda (94) Argentina (98) Armenia (95) Aruba (—) Australia (99) Austria (99) Azerbaijan (96) Bahamas (99) Bahrain (99) Bangladesh (56) Barbados (98) Belarus (100) Belgium (98) Belize (92) Benin (77) Bermuda (—) Bhutan (79) Bolivia (79) Bosnia and Herzegovina (98) Botswana (90) Brazil (90) Brunei Darussalam (99) Bulgaria (97) Burkina Faso (71) Burma/Myanmar (73) Burundi (61) Cambodia (66) Cameroon (77) Canada (99) Cape Verde (93) Cayman Islands (—) Central African Republic (65) Chad (44) Chile (99) China (95) Colombia (94) Comoros (79) Congo DR (68) Congo, Rep. (76) Costa Rica (93) Côte d'Ivoire (74) Croatia (100) Cuba (99)
149 103
g g
718 29 707 259 57 238 681 674 108 362 332 3 548 290 655 105 17 750 61 105 280 53 352 417 309 6 1 7 5 20 728 70 411 3 6 311 161 275 34 4 19 336 16 447 116
g g g g g e g g g g g f f g f f g g g g g g g g g f g g g g g g g g g g d g g g g g
38 11
g d
7 208 90 98 99 603 607 24 124 183 22 137 8 417 148 7 225 26 24 64 48 161 88 89 6 9 8 4 11 943 130
g
3 2 141 57 80 9
d g h g g g
5 231 17 180 36
g
g g f h d g g f g g g f g d g g d g g g g g g g g
89 91 168 455 6 447 240 197 383 464 410 146 401 263 7 462 378 439 112 12 904 45 71 282 73 206 210 300 7 11 4 3 10 553 138 918 3 1 208 277 180 31
h g f f d e g d f f g f e f f g e e g d f h g e f f f e g d g g e e g f e d g g
2.5
d
0.1
6
f
0.5 0.2
g f
6.6 5.6
d d
1.8 2.5 0.2
g g f
8
g
5.8
e
0.7 1.8
g f
0.1
g
5.8
g
0.3
g
5.8
f
0.4 0.8
f
7.7
g
5 6.4
e g
2
d
4.2 7.9 4.4
f g f
0.7 1.4 0.2
g e g
0.5 0.2 0.2
e g
0
0.5
g f g
4 322 14 416 93
g 3.9 e e g
0.4
h
0.9 0.5
f f
92 42 168 587 14 454 119 88 240 351 340 70 296 259 10 382 169 304 122 12 470 44 41 209 44 145 238 141 5 5 6 3 12 446 113 665 3 3 133 101 108 25 2 9 179 16 261 61
Social Watch 185 Information, science and technology
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Summary:
Countries
current situation (colour)
(Basic Capabilities Index value, 0-100)
Internet users (per 1,000 people)
Personal computers (per 1,000 people)
Telephone mainlines (per 1,000 people)
ICT expenditure (% of GDP)
R&D expenditure (% of GDP)
Value
Recent Evolution (arrow-icon) f g d h h f g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g f e f g g f g g g g g f g g g g f g g f e g g e g d g g g g g e g g
Cyprus (100) Czech Republic (99) Denmark (100) Dijibouti (90) Dominica (96) Dominican Republic (87) Ecuador (86) Egypt (89) El Salvador (80) Equatorial Guinea (58) Eritrea (60) Estonia (99) Ethiopia (53) Faroe Islands (—) Fiji (93) Finland (100) France (99) French Polynesia (—) Gabon (82) Gambia (73) Georgia (96) Germany (99) Ghana (76) Greece (99) Greenland (—) Grenada (92) Guam (—) Guatemala (68) Guinea (68) Guinea-Bissau (58) Guyana (84) Haiti (48) Honduras (82) Hong Kong (—) Hungary (99) Iceland (98) India (68) Indonesia (85) Iran (95) Ireland (100) Israel (99) Italy (100) Jamaica (95) Japan (99) Jordan (99) Kazakhstan (99) Kenya (71) Kiribati (89) Korea, DPR (87) Korea, Rep. (100) Kuwait (100) Kyrgyzstan (95) Lao PDR (58) Latvia (99) Lebanon (96) Lesotho (72) Liberia (61) Libya (99)
380 483 807 13 366 172 132 140 111 16 25 637 4 775 96 788 512 286 62 59 82 723 38 329 916 218 386 101 5 22 257 104 60 572 519 650 72 58 324 561 279 539 561 690 197 123 80 21
f g g d d g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g h g f g g g g g g f g f g g f g g d g g g d
759 338 143 17 550 383 35 5 43
g g g g g g g g g
383 274 549 24 182 35 130 49 52 19 8 522 7
g g d g h g g
61 500 652 110 36 33 54 656 6 94
g d g h g g g g g g
153
d
21 5 2 39 52 20 686 256 527 33 20 106 582 242 367 68 407 67
g h
g g g g g g e g f h g f g
14 11
g g
576 237 19 18 327 104 3
g h e d g d
22
f
g g f h h
d
449 233 517 13 293 93 135 149 158 21 8 369 11 464 146 329 564 207 20 45 126 653 16 537 408 262 402 104 5 3 149 11 113 596 323 600 35 79 336 484 426 456 136 401 102 209 7 43 50 462 199 92 16 283 170 27 1 144
f f f e h e d g g g f g g g g f e h f g f e g f f f f d g f d f g g e f f g g h h g g f f g f f g f e g g f f d f g
7.1 5.8
e e
6.1 5.8
g g
0.4 1.5 2.4
g g f
0.1 0.2 0.1
g g g
1.2 0.2
g
5.2 5.7
f f
3.4 2.1
e e
6.2
h
0.2 2.5
f h
5.4
g
0.5 0.7
g
11.2 4.7 5.9
g f e
5.6 3.9 3.5 5.9 6.5 5.8 6.6 7.2 9.3
f g g g f g f f g
0.7 1 2.8 0.7
g g f f
0.6 1.3 4.5 1.1 0.1 3.4 0.3 0.3
f g h e g g
8.2
g
7.1 4.5
g g
3.2 0.2 0.2
g h h
0.7
g
0.1
g
g
303 200 376 17 280 100 81 69 80 19 14 382 6 620 101 325 347 201 39 46 66 408 20 193 442 211 394 75 5 9 148 56 51 372 221 445 29 40 154 327 192 274 154 302 75 111 27 25 50 361 156 64 17 290 219 16 3 70
Measuring progress 186 Social Watch
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Summary:
Countries
current situation (colour)
(Basic Capabilities Index value, 0-100)
Internet users (per 1,000 people)
Personal computers (per 1,000 people)
Telephone mainlines (per 1,000 people)
ICT expenditure (% of GDP)
R&D expenditure (% of GDP)
Value
Recent Evolution (arrow-icon) h g d f g g g g g g g g g g g f g g g g g g g e f d h g g g g g g f g g g g g f g g g g g f f f e g g d g g
Liechtenstein (—) Lithuania (99) Luxembourg (100) Macau (—) Macedonia (—) Madagascar (59) Malawi (62) Malaysia (97) Maldives (91) Mali (67) Malta (99) Marshall Islands (93) Mauritania (68) Mauritius (99) Mayotte (—) Mexico (95) Micronesia (89) Moldova (—) Monaco (—) Mongolia (93) Montenegro (94) Morocco (81) Mozambique (66) Namibia (89) Nepal (58) Netherlands (100) Netherlands Antilles (—) New Caledonia (—) New Zealand (98) Nicaragua (70) Niger (55) Nigeria (56) Norway (100) Oman (98) Pakistan (71) Palau (99) Panama (93) Papua New Guinea (62) Paraguay (95) Peru (88) Philippines (78) Poland (99) Portugal (99) Puerto Rico (—) Qatar (95) Romania (96) Russia (99) Rwanda (53) Samoa (97) San Marino (—) São Tomé and Príncipe (83) Saudi Arabia (95) Senegal (68) Serbia (98) Seychelles (99) Sierra Leone (57) Singapore (92) Slovakia (99)
652 492 758 496 273 6 10 557 108 8 447 39 10 270
d g g g g g g g g g g g g g
183 673 402 368 5 2 231 200 8 229 91 46 176
g g g g h d g g g g g g g
227 135 184 612 123 467 214 9 49 14 842 11 335 692 28 3 68 848 131 108 273 223 18 87 274 60 440 401 254 420 239 211 11 44 510 146 264 66 203 376 2 657 559
g g g
144 55 111
g
g
139
d
g g g g g e d d d g g g g g
36 14 240 5 912
g g g g g
171 526 40 1 8 629 71 5
g f g g g g g
g f g g g g g g g g g g g e g g g h g g g g
46 64 78 103 73 169 172 8 191 192 133 3 23 800 39 148 21 244 212
h h h d g f g
740 514
g g
g
g g g g f f e g g
555 237 517 371 228 7 13 164 108 6 562 83 13 286 62 188 78 284 1049 61 588 78 3 66 25 448 449 248 413 45 2 11 423 103 30 370 148 9 64 96 45 271 395 265 284 198 311 2 109 689 48 165 22 406 267 5 406 213
e d e e f g g e g g g g e h h f g
6.8
4
h
g
h
0.8 1.5 0.1 24.8 0.2
g f
0.6
f
0.5
g
0.4
g
0.5
g
0.8
h
0.3
h
g g
g f d g e e g e d g g f h f
8.3
g
0.7 0.5
g f
6.6
d
1.7
f
5.7
f
1.2 0
d f
3.4 4.4
e f
1.5
f
5.6
f
0.4
g
g f g g g f e f g e g f g f d h e g g d e e
5.9
f
0.3
f
3.9 5.7 6 5.7
f f g g
0.1 0.1 0.1 0.6 0.8
h h f d d
5.3 4.1
g g
0.5 1.1
g f
4.7 10.9
g g
0.1 1.7 0.4
g g
2.4 0.5
g f
6.5 6
f g
604 228 487 317 223 5 8 192 139 7 310 71 23 183 62 113 89 145 831 81 528 67 7 118 15 442 230 251 328 28 2 23 381 102 30 322 85 30 57 95 37 177 195 176 298 127 132 5 59 666 78 145 24 214 214 4 362 259
Social Watch 187 Information, science and technology
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Summary:
Countries
current situation (colour)
(Basic Capabilities Index value, 0-100)
Internet users (per 1,000 people)
Personal computers (per 1,000 people)
Telephone mainlines (per 1,000 people)
ICT expenditure (% of GDP)
R&D expenditure (% of GDP)
Value
Recent Evolution (arrow-icon) d g g f g g g g g g g g d g g g g g g g g f g g g g g d g f f g g g g g g e
Slovenia (99) Solomon Islands (—) Somalia (48) South Africa (89) Spain (100) Sri Lanka (96) St Kitts and Nevis (95) St Lucia (98) St Vincent and Grenadines (95) Sudan (70) Suriname (82) Swaziland (80) Sweden (100) Switzerland (97) Syria (95) Tajikistan (89) Tanzania (73) Thailand (96) Timor-Leste (56) Togo (68) Tonga (96) Trinidad and Tobago (95) Tunisia (95) Turkey (92) Turkmenistan (88) Uganda (59) Uklraine (99) United Arab Emirates (100) United Kingdom (99) United States of America (98) Uruguay (98) US Virgin Islands (—) Uzbekistan (93) Vanuatu (87) Venezuela (94) Vietnam (93) West Bank and Gaza (—) Yemen (59) Zambia (71) Zimbabwe (77)
526 17 11 83 513 39 307 655 474 91 96 37 797 763 174 72 10 210 1 50 82 160 168 165 14 25 215 518 717 735 291 277 45 75 208 210 96 14 42 101
g d g h g g h h d g e g g g g
g
425 47 9 85 393 37 234 160 138 112 44 37 881 918 90 13 9 70
d g g g f g g g g g g g h g g g g g g g g
30 59 132 75 60 72 17 45 330 802 805 136 28 31 14 93 96 56 28 11 65
h g g g g
e g h f g g g g g g g g d g g g
g
g g g g g d
e g g g g g f
425 16 11 97 453 137 532 321 191 9 179 39 602 653 174 50 4 110 2 15 206 231 125 246 92 5 276 317 552 541 290 660 68 39 188 335 94 45 8 26
d d f e g g h h d f h g f f g g h g g f h f g g g g d f e d d g g g e g e d
4.7
g
1.6
h
9.7 5.5 6
e g g
0.9 1.2 0.2
g g g
0.2 0.3
h h
3.8 2.9
d g
6.4 8
f d
0.1 6.1
g
0.3
g
6 5.5
h f
0.1 1 0.8
f g g
7.1 5.1 6.7 7.5 6
f g e f f
0.2 1
f f
1.8 2.6 0.3
e e g
3.9 6.1
g f
0.2 0.2
f g
0
f
3.5
f
276 27 10 55 273 44 358 379 201 53 106 38 458 469 146 34 8 79 2 32 116 131 75 95 59 12 109 293 416 418 145 322 48 43 99 129 82 29 15 49
NotE: 1. Evolution: Evolution of indicators obtained by re-escalating those values resulting from the relative rate of variation among the following ranks: Minor than -5: significant regression; Between -5 and -1: regression; Between -1 and 1: stagnant; Between 1 a 5: slight progress; Larger than 5: significant progress. This rate is obtained from the following operation: (2009 value – 2008 value/ 2008 value)*100
2. Value reached by the index: The value results from adding the values calculated for each dimension and dividing the result by the total number of dimensions presenting data. 3. Stagnant Evolution: In those indicators showing stagnant evolution in all their values, said evolution responds to lack of updating, being reproduced those values registered in 2008.
Source: World Development Indicators 2009, World Bank (www.worldbank.org). For more detailed information on the reference years of the data see complete tables at: www.socialwatch.org/statistics2009
Definition of indicators: Internet users (per 1,000 people): People with access to the internet, per 1,000 people. Personal computers (per 1,000 people): Personal computers are self-contained computers designed to be used by a single individual, per 1,000 people. Telephone mainlines (per 1,000 people): Telephone lines connecting a customer’s equipment to the public switched telephone network. Data are presented per 1,000 people for the entire country.
Information and communication technology expenditure (% of GDP): Includes external spending on information technology (‘tangible’ spending on information technology products purchased by businesses, households, governments, and education institutions from vendors or organizations outside the purchasing entity), internal spending on information technology (‘intangible’ spending on internally customized software, capital depreciation, and the like), and spending on telecommunications and other office equipment. Expressed as percentage of gross domestic product (GDP).
Research and development expenditure (% of GDP): Expenditures for research and development are current and capital expenditures (both public and private) on creative work undertaken systematically to increase knowledge, including knowledge of humanity, culture, and society, and the use of knowledge for new applications. R&D covers basic research, applied research, and experimental development. Expressed as percentage of gross domestic product (GDP). Methodological notes and guidelines at, the end of the section.
Measuring progress 188 Social Watch
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INFORMATION, SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
CHART 1: Current ICT situation by regions (number of countries) 45
The gap is widening faster
Worst relative situation
40
Below average
35
Above average
30
L
ike in the other indexes, the trend in Information and Communication Technologies is towards increasing polarisation – that is to say, the gap between countries and regions in the better and worse relative situations is continuing to widen. An examination of the evolution of countries in terms of their relative situation (Table 1) shows those in the worse relative situation have plummeted and those in the better relative situation have risen appreciably. The proportion of people in the world who have benefited from technological progress has varied substantially from one year to another. There has also been considerable variation in the proportion of resources different countries allocate to research and development in terms of finance and public policies (Table 2). The biggest differences are in expenditure on Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) and on Research and Development (R&D). Among the countries in the worse relative situation this is expressed as a fall, and among those in the better relative situation this is expressed as a rise. In the countries in the worse relative situation average expenditure on ICTs decreased by around half from 2008 to 2009 (from an average of 5% of GDP to 3.9%) and spending on R&D simply stopped (from 0.3% of GDP in 2008 to 0% in 2009). On the other hand, in the countries in the better relative situation average expenditure on ICTs increased by 24.3% (from an average of 7% of GDP to an average of 8.7%) and spending on R&D nearly quadrupled (with a net increase of 278.9%, it went from 1.9% of GDP in 2008 to 7.2% in 2009). In the countries in the worse situation, this evolution in expenditure was accompanied by a process of elitization in access to the various modern communication technologies. The number of people with a telephone line (per 1000 inhabitants) fell by 157.8%, that is to say it decreased by nearly a third (from 58 to 22.5 per 1000 people from 2008 to 2009, so today it is 38.8% less than in 2008). The number of people with a personal computer fell by 31.1% (from 27 per 1000 inhabitants in 2008 to 20.6 in 2009). And now there are a third fewer Internet users than in 2008 (28.9% fewer, with a reduction from 37 users per 1000 inhabitants to 28.7). At the other end of the spectrum, in the countries in the better relative situation, the effects of the above-mentioned favourable evolution of expenditure are evident. In these countries today there are 8.9% more people with telephone lines than in 2008 (a rise from 517 per 1000 inhabitants to 562.9), and there has been a 21.1% increase in the number of people with a personal computer (from 535 per 1000 inhabitants in 2008 to 678.4 in 2009). In addition,
Best relative situation
25 20 15 10 5 0 East Asia & Pacific
Europe
Central Asia
Latin America & Caribbean
Middle East & North Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa
South Asia
North America
TABLE 1. Current situation by ICT evolution (number of countries) f
e
5
2
Below average
11
2
Above average
7
Better relative situation
7 30
Worse relative situation
Total
h
d
g
Total
48
55 44
1
2
28
1
5
16
29
4
2
1
54
68
8
4
8
146
196
TABLE 2. Averages by indicator for countries in worse and better ICT situation Internet users (per 1,000 people)
Personal computers (per 1,000 people)
Telephone lines (per 1,000 people)
Expenditure on ICTs (% of GDP)
Expenditure on R & D (% of GDP)
Worse relative Average situation Number of countries
28.7 68
20.6 77
22.5 67
3.9 17
0.0 46
Better relative situation
Average Number of countries
668.8 41
678.4 23
562.9 35
8.7 11
7.2 6
Total
Average Number of countries
258.8 201
167.9 186
217.2 203
6.0 74
1.1 107
there has been a relative increase1 of 23.1% over 2008 in the number of Internet users (from 514 per 1000 people to 668.8). There is a stark contrast between countries at the bottom of the scale, where only 3% to 5% of the population have access to information communication tools, and the countries at the top, where between 56% and 68% have access. If the generalised use of new technologies, particularly those that permit horizontal, symmetrical communication with the rest of the world, are factors that promote and underpin the rights of “information citizens”, these vast differences reflect the increasing polarisation, and therefore for some populations increasing exclusion, in the modern world.
Access by regions The regions that are best positioned in this dimension are North America, where there are no countries below the average, and Europe, where no countries have remained in a worse relative situation although 1 In this case the word “increase” refers to the rate of relative variation between the values considered.
6 are below the average (and 21 above average and 19 in a better relative situation). The distribution in Latin America and the Caribbean is similar to that in the Middle East and North Africa region. Most of these countries are in the intermediate situation (71.8% and 84.2%, respectively) and the proportion of countries in the worse situation is relatively small (12.8% and 15.8%, respectively). East Asia and the Pacific, on the other hand, is the most heterogeneous region, but the balance is clearly negative: 35.3% of the countries are in a worse relative situation, 23.5% are below average, 26.5% are above average and only 14.7% are in a better relative situation. This contrasts with South Asia, where no countries are above the average or in a better relative situation and 85.7% are in a worse situation. But the geographical region in the worst situation is sub-Saharan Africa, where not only there are no countries in a better relative situation but nearly nine tenths of the countries (87.5%) are in the worse relative situation. Moreover, 8.3% are below the average and only 4.2% are above average. n
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