The Little Data Book on Information and Communication Technology 2014

Abstract

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. By the end of 2013, there were an estimated 6.8 billion mobile-cellular subscriptions globally. The number of individuals using the Internet has risen constantly and reached an estimated 2.7 billion while the number of fixed (wired)- broadband subscriptions reached almost 700 million at the end of 2013. The Little Data Book on Information and Communication Technology 2014 illustrates the progress of this revolution for 214 economies around the world. It provides comparable statistics on the sector for 2005 and 2012 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.