IDA & IBRD total | ICT goods imports (% total goods imports)
Information and communication technology goods imports include computers and peripheral equipment, communication equipment, consumer electronic equipment, electronic components, and other information and technology goods (miscellaneous). Development relevance: The digital and information revolution has changed the way the world learns, communicates, does business, and treats illnesses. New information and communications technologies (ICT) offer vast opportunities for progress in all walks of life in all countries - opportunities for economic growth, improved health, better service delivery, learning through distance education, and social and cultural advances. Comparable statistics on access, use, quality, and affordability of ICT are needed to formulate growth-enabling policies for the sector and to monitor and evaluate the sector's impact on development. Although basic access data are available for many countries, in most developing countries little is known about who uses ICT; what they are used for (school, work, business, research, government); and how they affect people and businesses. The global Partnership on Measuring ICT for Development is helping to set standards, harmonize information and communications technology statistics, and build statistical capacity in developing countries. For more information see www.itu.int/ITU-D/ict/partnership/. The work of the Partnership is directed towards achieving internationally comparable and reliable ICT statistics. In order to achieve this, its members are involved in developing and maintaining a core list of ICT indicators. Other activities include the compilation and dissemination of ICT data, and the provision of technical assistance enabling statistical agencies to collect data that underlie the core list of ICT indicators. Limitations and exceptions: Detailed trade data are widely available from country trade statistics. These are collected by the UNSD and published in their UN COMTRADE database. The ICT goods trade indicators are usually compiled by interested international and national agencies using COMTRADE data. Concepts are therefore consistent with those applying to the COMTRADE database. The main statistical issue associated with this indicator appears to be the different treatment of re-exports and re-imports by countries, depending on whether the Special or General Trade System is used.2 Re-imports are separately reported for some countries and the value of ICT re-imports (which is included in the value of ICT imports for those countries) is generally small. Statistical concept and methodology: Information and communication technology goods imports include computers and peripheral equipment, communication equipment, consumer electronic equipment, electronic components, and other information and technology goods (miscellaneous). Software is generally excluded, as there is a preference to record it under services (not an ICT good but an ICT product) to the extent possible. However it is hard to completely exclude embedded software from certain types of ICT goods, such as video game consoles (see for example the discussion on page 30 of the OECD guide cited below). ICT goods imports as a percentage of total imports is calculated for each country by dividing the value of its ICT goods imports by the total value of its goods imports. The result is then multiplied by 100 to be expressed as a percentage. ICT goods are defined according to the OECD’s Guide on Measuring the Information Society 2011 for Harmonized System (HS) 2007 and adapted to HS12 by UNCTAD in collaboration with UNSD (United Nations Statistics Division). This new list consists of 93 goods defined at the 6 digit level of the 2012 version of the HS. The technical note is available online at: http://unctad.org/en/PublicationsLibrary/tn_unctad_ict4d02_en.pdf Data were downloaded from COMTRADE according to the reported classification (HS92, 96, 02, 07, 12) and aggregated into ICT groups by UNCTAD.
Publisher
The World Bank
Origin
IDA & IBRD total
Records
63
Source
IDA & IBRD total | ICT goods imports (% total goods imports)
1960
1961
1962
1963
1964
1965
1966
1967
1968
1969
1970
1971
1972
1973
1974
1975
1976
1977
1978
1979
1980
1981
1982
1983
1984
1985
1986
1987
1988
1989
1990
1991
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
14.33934696 2000
14.43374051 2001
14.98497324 2002
15.04177769 2003
15.14339257 2004
15.57121031 2005
15.7099604 2006
14.48652861 2007
12.74903965 2008
13.89425554 2009
13.16516306 2010
11.5274437 2011
12.23715487 2012
12.6090472 2013
12.41986109 2014
14.14319417 2015
14.37917713 2016
13.98516228 2017
13.91276625 2018
14.00478017 2019
15.80765311 2020
14.48102787 2021
2022
IDA & IBRD total | ICT goods imports (% total goods imports)
Information and communication technology goods imports include computers and peripheral equipment, communication equipment, consumer electronic equipment, electronic components, and other information and technology goods (miscellaneous). Development relevance: The digital and information revolution has changed the way the world learns, communicates, does business, and treats illnesses. New information and communications technologies (ICT) offer vast opportunities for progress in all walks of life in all countries - opportunities for economic growth, improved health, better service delivery, learning through distance education, and social and cultural advances. Comparable statistics on access, use, quality, and affordability of ICT are needed to formulate growth-enabling policies for the sector and to monitor and evaluate the sector's impact on development. Although basic access data are available for many countries, in most developing countries little is known about who uses ICT; what they are used for (school, work, business, research, government); and how they affect people and businesses. The global Partnership on Measuring ICT for Development is helping to set standards, harmonize information and communications technology statistics, and build statistical capacity in developing countries. For more information see www.itu.int/ITU-D/ict/partnership/. The work of the Partnership is directed towards achieving internationally comparable and reliable ICT statistics. In order to achieve this, its members are involved in developing and maintaining a core list of ICT indicators. Other activities include the compilation and dissemination of ICT data, and the provision of technical assistance enabling statistical agencies to collect data that underlie the core list of ICT indicators. Limitations and exceptions: Detailed trade data are widely available from country trade statistics. These are collected by the UNSD and published in their UN COMTRADE database. The ICT goods trade indicators are usually compiled by interested international and national agencies using COMTRADE data. Concepts are therefore consistent with those applying to the COMTRADE database. The main statistical issue associated with this indicator appears to be the different treatment of re-exports and re-imports by countries, depending on whether the Special or General Trade System is used.2 Re-imports are separately reported for some countries and the value of ICT re-imports (which is included in the value of ICT imports for those countries) is generally small. Statistical concept and methodology: Information and communication technology goods imports include computers and peripheral equipment, communication equipment, consumer electronic equipment, electronic components, and other information and technology goods (miscellaneous). Software is generally excluded, as there is a preference to record it under services (not an ICT good but an ICT product) to the extent possible. However it is hard to completely exclude embedded software from certain types of ICT goods, such as video game consoles (see for example the discussion on page 30 of the OECD guide cited below). ICT goods imports as a percentage of total imports is calculated for each country by dividing the value of its ICT goods imports by the total value of its goods imports. The result is then multiplied by 100 to be expressed as a percentage. ICT goods are defined according to the OECD’s Guide on Measuring the Information Society 2011 for Harmonized System (HS) 2007 and adapted to HS12 by UNCTAD in collaboration with UNSD (United Nations Statistics Division). This new list consists of 93 goods defined at the 6 digit level of the 2012 version of the HS. The technical note is available online at: http://unctad.org/en/PublicationsLibrary/tn_unctad_ict4d02_en.pdf Data were downloaded from COMTRADE according to the reported classification (HS92, 96, 02, 07, 12) and aggregated into ICT groups by UNCTAD.
Publisher
The World Bank
Origin
IDA & IBRD total
Records
63
Source