Abstract
Information and communication technology (ICT) has become a major driver of changes in economic, social, public and private life, leading to emergence of the Information Society and Digital Economy. Identification of key trends and analysis of transformation processes can only be made on the basis of reliable statistical data. Development of relevant international statistics play a leading role here hence, via establishing and updating relevant standards, it allows to measure development of the Information Society in a global scale, and benchmark positions of individual countries in the worldwide economic environment. ICT indicators are based on general (definitions and classifications, similar data collection methodologies) and specialised statistical standards, whereas harmonised methodology provides highly compatible indicators for different countries. The objective of this paper is to present a systemic overview of internationally accepted definitions of main ICT indicators based on accumulated methodological standards and practical experience.
TopBackground
An Information Society is usually understood as a society that makes extensive use of information networks and technologies, produces large quantities of ICT goods and services, and has a diversified content industry. Both theoretical and practical issues related to measuring different aspect of Information Society has been increasingly addressed by many authors during the last 20 years (see for example Blank, Groselj [2014]; Dolničar et al. [2014]; Billon et al. [2016]). The key three thematic “pillars” related to the Information Society are as follows (Figure 1):
- •
ICT Sector and the Supply of ICT: Which industries it includes, how important they are for the national economy, how many enterprises are involved and how many persons are employed, which types of products and services are produced, and what is the total turnover?
- •
Technical Infrastructure: Including the penetration rates of landline and mobile telephone networks, the number of computers per inhabitant and the number of Internet connections (whether or not a country is ready to become an information-based society).
- •
ICT Demand: Which enterprises and individuals are using ICT products and services? Which technologies are being used, and why? What barriers hamper a country’s integration in the global Information Society?
Figure 1. The Conceptual Model of the Information Society
Despite the fact that the Information Society Statistics is a relatively new area, international organisations have already adopted a set of harmonized measurement standards and allied indicators, and put together the necessary methodological foundations. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the Statistical Office of the European Union (Eurostat), the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the Partnership on Measuring ICT for Development (Partnership) play the leading role in this effort (Table 1).
Table 1. Existing International standards for ICT statistics
| Area covered by standards | References |
| ICT supply | |
| The ICT sector and content and media sector definition by economic activity in accordance with international classifications |
OECD, 2011
UNCTAD, 2009
|
| The ICT product definition by goods and services in accordance with international classifications (CPC, HS) |
OECD, 2011
UNCTAD, 2009
|
| Core list of ICT sector and trade in ICT goods indicators | Partnership, 2016 |
| ICT infrastructure | |
| ITU Telecommunications/ICT Indicators |
ITU, 2014
OECD, UNCTAD |
| Core list of ICT infrastructure and access indicators | Partnership, 2016 |
| ICT demand | |
| ICT usage by businesses (enterprises) survey | Eurostat, 2016a
OECD, 2015
UNCTAD, 2009 |
| Core list of ICT access and use by enterprises indicators | Partnership, 2016 |
| ICT access and usage by households and individuals survey | Eurostat, 2016a
OECD, 2015
ITU, 2014 |
| Core list of ICT access and use by households and individuals indicators | Partnership, 2016 |
Key Terms in this Chapter
International Statistical Standards for Measuring ICT: A set of internationally accepted recommendations on statistical surveying of Information Society, specifying requirements to statistical data and describing methodology for building basic indicators, based on harmonisation of national statistical standards.
International Statistics: Harmonised statistical data collected and published by international organisations based on standardised programmes, to conduct regional and international comparisons.
Information Industry Statistics: A sub-area of Information Society statistics studying all aspects of the ICT and content-related activities.
ICT Usage Statistics: A sub-area of Information Society statistics studying all aspects of activities involving application of ICT in the business sector, social sphere, public administration, households, and by individuals.
Information Society Statistics: The newest branch of social and economic statistics aimed at studying all aspects of activities related to the production of ICT goods and services, distribution and usage of ICT in the economy, social and public sectors, and private life ( HSE, 2014 ).
ICT Sphere: Supply, demand and usage of ICT.
Information and Communication Technologies (ICT): Technologies using microelectronics for collection, storage, processing, retrieval, transmission, and presentation of data, texts, images, and sound ( HSE, 2014 ).