Publication:
South Asia’s Digital Economy: An Opportunity to Build Back Better, Digitally

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dc.contributor.authorWorld Bank
dc.date.accessioned2022-04-12T18:24:55Z
dc.date.available2022-04-12T18:24:55Z
dc.date.issued2022
dc.description.abstractThis report provides a region-wide analysis on the status of the digital economy in South Asia. It identifies opportunities and challenges for national and regional action to realize the transformational potential of digitalizing economies, societies, and governments. The report synthesizes and builds upon country assessments produced for Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. It follows the World Bank’s digital economy assessment framework, covering different dimensions of the digital economy from digital infrastructure and public platforms to digital financial services, skills, and the trust environment. It also discusses the opportunities and benefits of regional integration and collaboration. First and foremost, enabling access to high-quality affordable broadband, and increasing its adoption, will yield substantial social and economic benefits. These benefits include better access to information, education, and training, greater administrative efficiency in public services, and improved economic growth and productivity. There are currently significant gaps in connectivity access and usage within and across South Asian countries. While most countries have closed the gaps in mobile network coverage, fixed broadband coverage remains a challenge. The usage gap (represented by the number of people living within range of a mobile network but not using the Internet) remains the region’s biggest challenge, and is driven by gaps in digital literacy, gaps in affordability for the poorest quintiles, and a lack of relevant content and applications. While there is significant diversity across South Asia, countries in the region might consider adopting a twin-track approach as follows: a) implement policies to enhance competition and attract private sector investment for the upgrade and roll out digital infrastructure, especially for fixed fiber networks that connect users over the middle and last miles, and b) invest heavily in demand-side policies and programs to enhance digital skills and increase affordability, especially for the poorest in the region.en
dc.identifierhttp://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/099230004062228270/P1723000e5e0d20908c790a5ffdda147f1
dc.identifier.doi10.1596/37292
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10986/37292
dc.languageEnglish
dc.publisherWashington, DC
dc.rightsCC BY 3.0 IGO
dc.rights.holderWorld Bank
dc.rights.urihttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/igo
dc.subjectDIGITAL INFRASTRUCTURE
dc.subjectDIGITAL ECONOMY ASSESSMENT
dc.subjectDIGITAL FINANCIAL SERVICES,
dc.subjectDIGITAL SKILLS
dc.subjectAFFORDABLE BROADBAND
dc.subjectREGIONAL INTEGRATION
dc.subjectDIGITAL INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENT
dc.titleSouth Asia’s Digital Economyen
dc.title.subtitleAn Opportunity to Build Back Better, Digitallyen
dc.typeReporten
dc.typeRapportfr
dc.typeInformees
dspace.entity.typePublication
okr.crossref.titleSouth Asia’s Digital Economy
okr.date.disclosure2022
okr.date.doiregistration2025-05-05T12:50:35.022992Z
okr.date.lastmodified2022-04-06T00:00:00Zen
okr.doctypeReport
okr.doctypePublications & Research
okr.docurlhttp://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/099230004062228270/P1723000e5e0d20908c790a5ffdda147f1
okr.guid099230004062228270
okr.identifier.externaldocumentum33780484
okr.identifier.internaldocumentum33780484
okr.identifier.report170219
okr.importedtrueen
okr.language.supporteden
okr.pdfurlhttp://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/099230004062228270/pdf/P1723000e5e0d20908c790a5ffdda147f1.pdfen
okr.region.administrativeSouth Asia
okr.region.geographicalSouth Asia
okr.topicFinance and Financial Sector Development::Payment Systems & Infrastructure
okr.topicIndustry::Infrastructure Finance
okr.topicInformation and Communication Technologies::Telecommunications Infrastructure
okr.topicEducation::Education and Digital Divide
okr.unitDigital Dev - SAR (IDD06)
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