The ITU-ICT Index ranked 157 countries, including the Philippines, based on their level of ICT access, use, and skills. It said that 250 million people were connected online in 2012, but 4.4 billion remain unconnected. Of 1.1 billion households worldwide not yet connected to the net, 90 percent were in developing countries, mostly in Africa. The high cost of net access in developing countries was restricting uptake and causing a “digital divide,” it noted.
South Korea led the world in ICT development for the third consecutive year, followed by Sweden, Iceland, Denmark, Finland, Norway, the Netherlands, United Kingdom, Luxembourg, and Hong Kong (China). The Philippines was ranked No. 98. Governments are prioritizing ICT as major lever of socio-economic growth, the Index said, projecting that by the end of 2013, there would be 6.8 billion mobile-cellular subscriptions worldwide.
The Index described as “digital natives” those “15-24 years old with five or more years of online experience.” About 30% of world’s young people fall into this category, the ITU-ICT report said. In developed countries, 86% or 145 million young Internet users are digital natives. Of 503 million young Internet users in developing nations, less than half are digital natives. The digital native population in these regions is expected to double by 2017.
We congratulate the United Nations headed by Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and International Telecommunication Union Secretary-General Hamadoun Toure, for their coordinative efforts to monitor for policy-making how countries and their citizens are able to keep in step with new technologies and breakthroughs in the digital age in our Republic of the Philippines and worldwide. CONGRATULATIONS AND MABUHAY!
