1. New Developments in ICT Statistics
Side event to the 41st session of the UN Statistical Commission, New York, 23 February 2010
New Developments in
ICT Statistics
Susan Teltscher
Head, Market Information and Statistics Division
Telecommunication Development Bureau
International Telecommunication Union

2. Continuous global ICT growth Mobile subscriptions to reach 5 billion in 2010
Source: ITU World Telecommunication/ICT Indicators Database
* Estimate..
Huge social and economic impacts – need to be measured

3. ICT measurement – who is concerned?
International organizations
National Statistical Offices (NSOs)
ICT Ministries, regulatory authorities
Private sector and academia
Ministerial Meeting on Indicators for the Information Society, Spain, June 2010 – implications for data collection agencies

4. Strong institutional commitment Memorandum of Understanding
Partnership members
International level
ITU
OECD
UNCTAD
UN DESA
UNESCO Institute for Statistics
World Bank
Regional level
ECA
ECLAC
ESCAP
ESCWA
Eurostat
Strong institutional commitment
Memorandum of Understanding

5. Core list of ICT indicators
Endorsed by UN Statistical Commission in 2007
Core ICT Indicators 2010 launched today
Revised and extended list
Definitions, statistical standards, classifications, model survey questions
Covering: ICT infrastructure, ICT in households, ICT in businesses, ICT sector and trade, ICT in education

6. Work in progress - indicators
UIS Working Group on ICT Statistics in Education (WISE)
E-government (ECA, ECLAC, UNDESA)
WSIS targets and goals (ITU, UIS, UNDESA, WHO) – ITU Report 2010
Measuring impact (OECD, Eurostat)

7. Measurement gaps Widely available:
- ICT infrastructure data from administrative sources
Large gaps:
- data on ICT use (by households, individuals, businesses, public entities etc.) in developing countries, mainly LDCs;
- data disaggregated by gender, urban/rural, education, employment, industry
– survey-based data
Lack of data in poor countries hampers ICT policy making

8. Measurement challenges
Lack of human and financial resources
Lack of interaction among stakeholders at the national level (e.g. ICT policy makers, statistical agencies)
Lack of awareness concerning the specific data needs and data quality (e.g. Internet and mobile phone usage) – rapidly evolving sector

9. Practical tools for NSOs: statistical manuals
UNCTAD manual: ICT use in businesses, ICT sector
ITU manual: ICT access in households, ICT use by individuals

10. Capacity building on ICT statistics - 2009
UNCTAD and ITU training courses (based on manuals): household and business ICT surveys
Delivery of trainings in Africa, Asia, and the Caribbean
Training of trainers (June 2009, Geneva)
ECLAC, ESCWA, ECA: regional workshops

11. Seminar on ICT Statistics Seoul, 19-21 July 2010
UNSD and KOSTAT
ITU and UNCTAD
In cooperation with
Hosted by the Government of the Republic of Korea
To discuss pertinent topics and challenges in ICT statistics

12. For further information
indicators[at]itu.int
measuring-ict.unctad.org
Thank you.