The Little Data Book on Information and Communication Technology 2018
Since the late 1990s access to information and communication technologies (ICTs) has seen tremendous growth—driven primarily by the wireless technologies and liberalization of telecommunications markets. Mobile communications have evolved from simple voice and text services to diversified innova...
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| Format: | Book |
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Washington, DC: World Bank
2019
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| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/403621561627644891/The-Little-Data-Book-on-Information-and-Communication-Technology-2018 http://hdl.handle.net/10986/31967 |
| Summary: | Since the late 1990s access to information and communication technologies
(ICTs) has seen tremendous growth—driven primarily by the wireless
technologies and liberalization of telecommunications markets. Mobile communications
have evolved from simple voice and text services to diversified
innovative applications and mobile broadband Internet. In 2016, there
were more than 7.3 billion mobile-cellular subscriptions worldwide. Globally,
3.5 billion people were using the Internet, of which 2.5 billion were from
developing countries. Mobile-broadband subscriptions have risen constantly
to reach 3.6 billion, while the number of fixed-broadband subscriptions
reached more than 84 million during the same period.
The impacts of ICTs cross all sectors. Research has shown that investment
in information and communication technologies is associated with such
economic benefits as higher productivity, lower costs, new economic opportunities,
job creation, innovation, and increased trade. ICTs also help provide
better services in health and education, and strengthen social cohesion.
The Little Data Book on Information and Communication Technology 2018
illustrates the progress of this revolution for 217 economies around the
world. It provides comparable statistics on the sector for 2010 and 2016
across a range of indicators, enabling readers to readily compare economies.
This book includes indicators covering the economic and social context,
the structure of the information and communication technology sector,
sector efficiency and capacity, and sector performance related to access,
usage, quality, affordability, trade, and applications. The glossary contains
definitions of the terms used in the tables. |
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