Pakistan ranked 142 on the Global ICT index out of 166 economies as revealed in the latest report of International Telecommunications Union (ITU). The report is considered to be the World’s most reliable and impartial data analysis for global ICT development. Governments, financial institutions and private sector analysts from across the globe largely rely on this report.
The report shows a positive growth in the use of information and communication technology (ICT) for developed countries indicating that half of world’s population is now online.
“Over three billion people are now online and information and communication technology growth remains buoyant in just about every country worldwide,” says ITU’s flagship annual report “Measuring the Information Society” (MIS).
The report stated that the number of users in developing countries have doubled since 2009 which comprises of two-thirds of the world’s online community. Every year there is a 6.6% growth in internet users across the globe.
Pakistan, on the other hand, remains one of the least connected countries (LCCs) with only 12% of its population online while remaining 80% are still offline. The LCCs are categorized based on growth rate at 2.78% or below and the low growth rate is a significant factor in the poor ranking of Pakistan. The current growth rate is 2.05% which is slightly up from 2.01% of 2012.
ICT expert Parvez Ifthikhar said, “Data for such reports is collected about six months ago, it, therefore, may not reflect the impact of the third-generation (3G) mobile broadband technology.”
Pakistan ranked 142 in 2013 edition of ICT Development Index while 141 in 2012 and the ranking has not been improved at all. Parvez Ifthikhar further added that the country’s overall internet access can be improved only if fibre optic network and mobile infrastructure are installed in rural areas of Pakistan.
Full report can be viewed here.
Source: Express Tribune
