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Toward Standard ICT Indicators for MENA

As the adoption of information and communication technology (ICT) in Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member-states has entered a mature phase, with ICT increasingly becoming part of daily life for businesses, governments and individuals, it has become imperative for these countries to develop industry-standard ICT databases. Such databases, which should contain all ICT indicators deemed essential for knowledge economy development by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), United Nations and so on, can play an important role in the systematic socio-economic development of GCC countries. These databases are treasure troves of information for policy-makers, allowing them a full and clear view of the level of ICT availability and use among their populations, institutions and businesses through tens or even hundreds of indicators. Users can analyze relationships between the various indicators and variables, identify priority areas, decide on targets and goals, and formulate their strategies and policies accordingly. Moreover, databases allow policy-makers to benchmark the performance of their own country against others and to monitor progress year after year in order to adjust planning as necessary.

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Volume V, Issue Two – October 2007

 

 

 

eMARKET TRENDS

The percentage of ICT expenditures on communications in GCC countries for 2006 exceeds the global average, while spending on software, hardware and services during the same period is only moderate. In its ICT spending forecast, Madar Research estimates that this trend will continue and that communications spending will grow 15.00% per annum to 2009, while IT growth will lag slightly at 13.03%.

 

eSTAT WATCH

Digital Opportunity: Four GCC countries, Bahrain, the UAE, Qatar and Kuwait, lead the MENA region in the World Information Society’s 2006 Digital Opportunity Index, but fifth-place Morocco is the real winner, jumping 36 places since 2004 to be the globe’s top gainer over two years, while Palestine puts in the best Arab performance since 2005. High-DOI economies like the four Arab leaders show strong rises in utilization figures that are indicative of broad internet usage and rapid transitions to broadband connectivity; in a surprising development, however, Morocco demonstrates greater progress in utilization than infrastructure – an instance of technological ‘leapfrogging’.

 

Knowledge Economy: According to the World Bank, the UAE’s knowledge economy experienced overall negative growth in the 18 months following January 2006, largely due to declines in the ‘pillars’ of education and economic incentive/governmental regime. By contrast, Qatar achieved growth of 19.92% and 8.73% in these same areas, as well as even more impressive gains (107.20%) in innovation, almost closing the gap with the new Arab world leader, Kuwait. Other ENA economies made only marginal gains, with ten of them, including GCC states Saudi Arabia and Oman, scoring  below the Arab average.

 

‘Booming’ Abu Dhabi lures investors into key non-oil sectors including industry, tourism and construction

The UAE’s largest emirate, which, in recent years, has derived enormous revenues from its dominant oil industry, is creating a diversification blueprint to increase the economic participation of important vertical sectors. While the strategy is open to criticism (“Abu Dhabi is merely copying Dubai”), it has enormous potential for success and may ultimately serve as a template for other emirates and GCC states.

 

Oman’s ambitious plans to develop and diversify economy includes boosting ICT skills and use

Faced with the realities of low oil reserves and flagging production, Oman is taking advantage of today’s high oil prices to chart a rational course toward economic diversification. The latest in a series of five-year plans envisions new public-private sector investment of US$34 billion or 24% of GDP by 2010. Almost half of this amount will be spent on ongoing infrastructural initiatives and to target tourism, industry and education sectors, with the latter benefiting from over US$1.3 billion alone. Investment in education is vital if Oman is to enhance ICT skills and usage as it builds on its remarkable progress to make the transition to a knowledge economy.

  

 
See Main Research Features
 

ICT Use Index – 2006

The ICT Use Index covers four ICT parameters: PC installed base and the number of Internet users, mobile phones and fixed lines. The Index is calculated by adding up the values of these four parameters and dividing the sum by the country's population figure. A higher Index score indicates more aggressive ICT adoption in the country under question.

Country

End 2005 ICT Use Index

End 2006 ICT Use Index

UAE

1.84

2.25

Bahrain

1.9

2

Qatar

1.59

1.81

Kuwait

1.41

1.4

Saudi Arabia

1.05

1.3

Jordan

0.91

1.08

Tunisia

0.82

1

Oman

0.81

0.98

Algeria

0.57

0.83

Libya

0.57

0.74

Morocco

0.61

0.72

Lebanon

0.64

0.69

Palestine

0.56

0.65

Syria

0.43

0.55

Egypt

0.4

0.49

Iraq

0.33

0.47

Yemen

0.2

0.24

Sudan

0.13

0.2

Total

0.51

0.64

 

 

 

 
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