Bangladesh steps down 2 notches on ICT index
Bangladesh has stepped down two ranks in the global ICT Development Index by securing 145th among 175 countries, according to a latest report published by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) today.
In Measuring the Information Society (MIS) report 2016, the Republic of Korea has ranked number one with 8.84 points in the global ICT Development Index (IDI) followed by Denmark with 8.83 points, while Bangladesh's point is 2.35.
Last year Bangladesh’s position was 143th with 2.25 points. In 2014 it was 145th position with 1.97 points and in 2013, Bangladesh's position was 146. ITU started to publish this report each year since 2009.
The IDI is a composite measurement that ranks countries according to their level of ICT access, use and skills.
Industry experts said though Bangladesh’s development index point increases every year but the country failed to grow faster like other countries.
Among the neighbouring countries, Pakistan and Afghanistan with ranking of 146 and 164 are behind Bangladesh, while the positions of Sri Lanka, Bhutan, India, Myanmar and Nepal are better with a ranking of 116, 117, 138, 140 and 142 respectively, according to the index.
Bangladesh’s position is 30th and fifth lowest in Asia and Pacific region countries, according to the report.
About 14.4 percent individuals are using internet in the country, 2.4 percent using Fixed-broadband while broadband users are 13.5 percent.
The top seven economies in the region – the Republic of Korea, which is the global top performer, Hong Kong (China), Japan, New Zealand, Australia, Singapore and Macao (China) – all have IDI values above 7.5 and sit in the high quartile of the IDI rankings.
They are all high-income economies which have maintained high IDI performance throughout the period since the Index was first published.
The report is widely recognised as the repository of the world's most reliable and impartial global data and analysis on the state of global ICT development, and is extensively relied upon by governments, financial institutions and private sector analysts worldwide, reads a statement of the ITU.
Most people have access to Internet services but many do not actually use them. The spread of 3G and 4G networks across the world make the Internet increasingly available to more and more people.
Latest data shows in 2016, mobile-broadband networks covered 84 percent of the world's population, yet with 47.1 percent internet user penetration, the number of internet users remain well below the number of people with network access.
While infrastructure deployment is crucial, high prices and other barriers remain important challenges to getting more people to enter the digital world.