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Azerbaijan steps up in ITU rating

26 November 2014 [14:15] - TODAY.AZ

/AzerNews/

By Nigar Orujova

Azerbaijan has taken the 64th place in the world in terms of ICT development, the International Telecommunication Union said. The country improved its rating by one position - from 65th place in 2012 to 64th in 2013.

The ranking has been published regularly by the ITU from 2009. It is recognized by governments, UN agencies and industries as the most accurate and impartial measure of overall national ICT development.

ITU’s ICT Development Index (IDI) ranks 166 countries according to their level of ICT access, use and skills. The average value of IDI for all the listed countries is 4.77.

It combines 11 indicators into a single measure that can be used as a benchmarking tool globally, regionally, and at national level, as well as helping track progress in ICT development over time.

The report measures ICT access, use and skills, and includes such indicators as mobile cellular subscriptions, households with a computer, Internet users, fixed and mobile broadband Internet subscriptions, and basic literacy rates.

Azerbaijan is among 10 most rapidly developing countries in the ranking, while Denmark ranked first , followed by the Republic of Korea.

The IDI’s top 30-ranking include countries from Europe and high-income nations from other regions including Australia, Bahrain, Canada, Japan, Macao (China), New Zealand, Singapore and the U.S.

In terms of regional comparisons, Europe’s average IDI value of 7.14 remains well ahead of the next best-performing region, the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS - 5.33), followed by the Americas (4.86), Asia & the Pacific (4.57), the Arab States (4.55), and Africa at 2.31.

The CIS and the Arab States showed the highest improvement in regional IDI averages over the past 12 months. Almost all countries surveyed improved their IDI ranking this year.

The highest result in the CIS region for IDI was recorded in Belarus (6.89) and Russia (6.70). In all CIS countries, the index is below the average for developed countries - 7.20.

The most noticeable improvement was recorded in Belarus - the country came from 43rd place in 2012 to 38th in 2013 and Georgia that is not included in the CIS, but included in the ranking of the Commonwealth countries - from 83rd to 72nd. All other CIS countries have deteriorated by one notch, except for Kazakhstan, whose rating has not changed, and the Ukraine, which has lost two points.

More growth was recorded in the number of households with Internet access in Russia (67 percent and 70 percent respectively).

This figure exceeds 50 percent in Azerbaijan, Belarus and Kazakhstan, while it is less than 10 percent in Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan.

Azerbaijan and Russia have relatively wide fixed broadband coverage with 17 percent, while Belarus takes the lead for this index in the region with 30 percent.

Azerbaijan has also promoted its ranking in the ITU’s study "State of Broadband Report 2014". The study showed that Azerbaijan has risen three points compared to last year and ranked 63rd with 58.7 percent among 191 countries. The world's average index on internet penetration among individual internet users is 37.9 percent.

Among the CIS countries, Azerbaijan ranked second after Russia that settled at the 56th place.

Azerbaijan also ranked first among the CIS countries in terms of broadband internet penetration among home users in developing countries. The country has improved its position by one point, taking 24th place with 58.7 percent, while the world average is 29.9 percent.

In fixed broadband Internet per 100 inhabitants, Azerbaijan ranked 48th with 17 percent. The country improved its position by four points. The global average in this segment is 9.4 percent.

As for the degree of penetration of mobile broadband, Azerbaijan improved its position by four points, securing 46th place with 43.9 percent, ranking fifth among the CIS countries.

Azerbaijan is now undertaking measures to develop its non-oil segment of economy. In this context, ICT is one of the prominent sectors. Over the past five years, the income of information technology sector of Azerbaijan has doubled.

URL: http://www.today.az/news/business/137684.html

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