1. PROMOTING THE ICT SECTOR
The Importance of Internationally Comparable Data
Torbjörn Fredriksson
Chief, ICT Analysis Section, UNCTAD
Measuring the IT Industry Globally
GPATS, Sao Paulo, Brazil
13 November 2013

2. UNCTAD Work on ICT4D
Three pillars
 Research and analysis
 Information Economy Report
 Stand alone studies
 Technical assistance
 Measuring the information economy
 Reviewing national ICT policies
 Strengthening cyberlaw frameworks
 Consensus-building and collaboration
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3. Collaboration Within UN system and Beyond
 UN Group on the Information Society (UNGIS)
 UNCTAD Vice-chair
 30 member organizations
 Co-organizer of the annual WSIS Forum/WSIS+10 Review
 Lead facilitator of Action Line C7 on E-business
 Secretariat of the CSTD
 Follow-up to the WSIS
 Partnership on Measuring ICT for Development
 Member of Steering Committee
 Responsible for information economy indicators
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4. Why Promote the ICT sector?
 Vibrant ICT sectors contribute to jobs, innovation, exports and
GDP growth
o Kenya: ICT sector accounted for 24% of total GDP growth
since 2000
o India: ICT sector grew at over 20% annually since 2000
o Cameroon: Growth was 15-46% per year from 2000
 Local ICT capabilities needed to sustain ICT use throughout
economy and society
 Within ICT sector, software and IT services offer the most
promising opportunities in low- and middle-income countries

5. Software is Everywhere
“
Growing emphasis on ICTs in the delivery of government, healthcare, education
and other goods and services demands customized applications. Countries
therefore need the capacity to adopt, adapt and develop relevant software.
BAN Ki-moon, UN Secretary-General

6. Software Sector Opportunities
 Low capital barriers to entry
 Generator of employment – not least for the skilled youth
o Some 10 million people work in computer software and services
 Source of innovation
o Software top recipient of venture capital in the US
 Source of export revenue
o Top exporters from the South: India, China, Philippines, Singapore
 Key to sustain productive ICT use in society
o Software increasingly important for functionality of goods and services

7. Why Measure the ICT sector?
 Data needed for informed policy-making
 Data missing for the majority of developing countries
o No LDCs are currently reporting ICT sector data
 Lack of official data means that policy makers and other
decision makers will rely on private sources of data
o Forrester, Gartner, IDC, EITO, etc
o Methodologies are not harmonized
o Strong focus on “sales” rather than “production”

8. ICT Sector’s Share of Business Sector Employment
Israel (2011)
Japan (2010)
New Zealand (2011)
Mauritius (2011)
Switzerland (2008)
Uruguay (2010)
Costa Rica (2010)
Hong Kong (China) (2010)
Russian Fed. (2008)
Singapore (2010)
United States (2009)
Armenia (2010)
Cameroon (2009)
Mexico (2009)
Azerbaijan (2011)
Kazakhstan (2008)
Egypt (2011)
Oman (2011)
Source: UNCTAD.
0
2
4
6
8
10

9. Distribution of ICT sector employment
IT services and
telecoms
dominate ICT
sector in most
countries.

10. UNCTAD-WITSA 2012 Survey of
IT/Software Associations
 Online survey conducted March–April 2012
 38 out of 80 IT/Software Associations responded
 Countries represented accounted for more than half of global
spending on software and IT services, and more than half of
all ICT spending.
o 8 associations in developed economies
o 26 in developing economies
o 4 in transition economies.
 The responding associations had more than 16,000 member
companies, employing more than 5 million people

11. Influencing Policy ― Key Task
 Most associations actively contribute to the process of national
policy making relevant to the software industry.
 All respondents support national policy formulation and
engage in policy advocacy and lobbying.
 More than 80% are engaged in raising awareness of the
IT/Software industry, promoting interaction between industry
and academia and promoting the national sector abroad.
 Relatively few are involved in incubation, certification or
facilitation of internships or scholarships.
 Good data important to influence policy and raise awareness!

12. Less than 50% Survey their Members at Least
Annually
Source: UNCTAD and WITSA.

13. Proposal to Enhance Data Availability
 Explore collaboration with the private sector - WITSA
 Build on the IT Industry Barometer (BMZ/GIZ)
 Develop a harmonized tool that all WITSA members could use
 Leverage good national practice (such as Assesspro/ALETI)
 Use approach that allows data to be compared with official
statistics

14. What is in it for WITSA and its Members?
 Show importance and evolution of the sector
 Compare IT sector performance of different countries
 Identify barriers to growth
 Use in interaction with governments
To Fulfill the Promise of the Digital Age!

15. INFORMATION ECONOMY REPORT 2012
can be downloaded free of charge at
www.unctad.org/ier2012