ITU Digital Access Index: Education and Affordability Key to Boosting New Technology Adoption

["Irfan Khan" <khania2@super.net.pk>]

ITU Digital Access Index: Education and Affordability Key to Boosting 
New Technology Adoption

19-11-2003 (ITU)


The first global index to rank Information and Communication 
Technology (ICT) access has turned up some surprises. Slovenia ties 
France; and the Republic of Korea, usually not among the top ten in 
international ICT rankings, comes in fourth. Apart from Canada, 
ranked 10th, the top ten economies are exclusively Asian and 
European.

The Digital Access Index (DAI) distinguishes itself from other 
indices by including a number of new variables, such as education and 
affordability. It also covers a total of 178 economies, which makes 
it the first truly global ICT ranking.

Countries are classified into one of four digital access categories: 
high, upper, medium and low. Those in the upper category include 
mainly nations from Central and Eastern Europe, the Caribbean, Gulf 
States and emerging Latin American nations. Many have used ICTs as a 
development enabler and government policies have helped them reach an 
impressive level of ICT access. This includes major ICT projects such 
as the Dubai Internet City in the United Arab Emirates (the highest 
ranked Arab nation in the DAI), the Multimedia Super Corridor in 
Malaysia (the highest ranked developing Asian nation) and the Cyber 
City in Mauritius (along with Seychelles, the highest ranked African 
nation). The DAI will be a useful tool for tracking the future 
advancement of these ambitious emerging economies.

The four Asian Tigers have made the greatest progress in ICTs over 
the last four years. The results suggest that English is no longer a 
decisive factor in quick technology adoption, especially as more 
content is made available in other languages.

The DAI forms part of the ITU's upcoming 2003 edition of the World 
Telecommunication Development Report (WTDR). Published to coincide 
with the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS), it will be a 
vital reference for governments, international development agencies, 
non-governmental organizations and the private sector to assess 
national conditions in information and communications technology.

	
		

Link(s) 	

Full text of the Press Release and basic data
http://www.itu.int/newsroom/press_releases/2003/30.html

World Summit on the Information Society
http://www.itu.int/wsis

UNESCO Institute for Statistics
http://www.uis.unesco.org/



source: 
http://portal.unesco.org/ci/ev.php?URL_ID=13621&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SE
CTION=201&reload=1069692134&PHPSESSID=32e5810383f05b6ace23d47277513c83