SA slips in ICT rankings

By Siyabonga Africa, ITWeb junior journalist

Johannesburg, 03 Mar 2009

South Africa has moved down 10 places - from 77th to 87th - on the International Telecommunications Union's (ITU's) 2002-2007 ICT development index (IDI). The index examines ICT developments in more than 150 countries.

The ITU's report says SA is still in the top position in Sub-Saharan Africa in terms of ICT, yet it has made little progress in increasing access and usage of ICT in the past five years.

Only 4.8% of households in the country had Internet access in 2007 and bandwidth remained relatively low, at 852Mb per user, compared to Tunisia which had 1 800Mb per user at the time.

African countries which moved up on the index include Gambia, which jumped 17 places to rank 122nd on the IDI; Tunisia, which moved up 11 places, to 83^rd; and Morocco, which is now placed at 101, from 111 in 2002.

Mauritius, which is ranked at 62, is still the top African country in terms of ICT development. The ITU says it has gained most on IDI value by improving in all areas, namely access, use and skills. In 2007, mobile cellular penetration was 74% and fixed broadband penetration almost 5%, one of the highest in the region.

The IDI combines 11 indicators, including ICT access, use and skills and literary levels, into a single measure which is then used as a benchmarking tool globally, regionally and at a country level.

Europe wins again

The ITU states the most advanced countries in ICT are still from northern Europe, with the exception of the Republic of Korea. Sweden topped the IDI rankings, followed by Korea, Denmark, the Netherlands, Iceland and Norway.

An ITU statement says over the past five years all countries, save one, have improved their ICT levels. Eastern Europe was commended for not only featuring high relative growth, but also one of the highest IDI value gains. It is considered the most dynamic region on ICT development during the 2002-2007 period.

On the other hand, the countries with the lowest ICT development were found in developing regions, predominantly Africa. The ITU states ICT levels are closely linked to GDP, which is why African countries feature mostly in the lower IDI ranks with little change since 2002.