Lessons from the Field: Geographic Distribution of ICTs


The Digital Dividend Project Clearinghouse contains over 1000 ICT-enabled development projects. These projects are collected through Internet research, relationships with partner organizations, and submitted to us by the projects themselves. While the data is not exhaustive, by examining a broad range of initiatives from around the globe, we hope to provide some interesting insights about where experimentation with ICTs is occurring.

Figure 1: Regional Distribution of ICT Initiatives

ICT-enabled projects are found throughout the world. While the majority of those in the Clearinghouse are found in Asia (with 61% of global population), the Clearinghouse contains more projects per capita in Africa (with 13% of global population). Initiatives listed as Europe or North America have their headquarters there, but administer projects in developing countries.

Figure 2: Asian Distribution of Projects

Figure 2 shows the breakdown of Clearinghouse-tracked projects in Asia. With 60% of the Clearinghouse total, India contains more ICT-enabled projects than all the other countries in Asia combined. Advantages lie in its population density, the potential economies of scale of such large networks, a growing strength in the field of information technology, and strong NGO networks that provide an understanding of the rural poor's needs. India also benefits from widespread use of English, and the world-class educational facilities of the Institutes of Technology and Management, which serve as a significant source of innovation. India's advantages are matched only by the scope of the challenges that impede adoption of ICTs: half of India's rural villages lack telephone connectivity and have unreliable or non-existent power supplies, illiteracy and poverty is widespread among a population of more than a billion people, and many regulatory and financing issues remain unresolved.

Figure 3: Distribution of Projects Within India

Almost half of all projects in India are located in the southern states of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala. Together, these states account for just 22% of the country's total population. Almost a fifth of Indian projects are located in the capital city of New Dehli. Another 15% are found in the western states of Gujarat and Maharashtra.

Figure 4: African Distribution of Projects

Projects are more evenly distributed among countries in Africa then they are in Asia. Taken together, the top five countries (South Africa, Kenya, Ghana, Uganda and Nigeria) contain two-thirds of all projects in Africa. Like India, all are former British colonies and were influenced heavily by the English language. While local language software and content continue to be developed worldwide, the widespread use of English among the educated in these countries may have contributed to earlier adoption. All five countries also have relatively high population densities for the continent, and have enjoyed fairly stable governments in recent years. Not surprisingly, South Africa, which has the highest GDP and teledensity on the continent, leads the way in total number of initiatives.

Figure 5: Latin American Distribution of Projects

Latin America's projects are also more evenly distributed than in Asia. Brazil and Mexico have the greatest number of Latin America-based projects, 18% and 10% respectively. Brazil is the fifth most populated country in the world; Mexico is the eleventh. Their overall GDPs are far ahead of any other countries in Latin America as well. The top five, which also include Peru, Colombia and Ecuador, make up just over 50% of projects that the Clearinghouse tracks in the region.

Figure 6: Distribution of Projects in North America & Europe

Several initiatives focused on developing countries are headquartered in North America or Europe. The majority of these are located in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada.

Figure 7: Developing Countries with the Most ICT-Enabled Projects

India, by far, is home to the greatest number of ICT-enabled projects that the Clearinghouse tracks--more than the next five countries combined. Of the top sixteen, five are in Asia, seven are in Africa, and five are in Latin America.

Figure 8: Breakdown of Project Classifications

The initiatives tracked by the Digital Dividends' Project Clearninghouse are classified based on their primary activities. Projects often have more than one classification, depending on the scope of their work. Figure 8 above shows the total number of projects categorized within each activity type. Projects focusing on education and telecenter development are the most popular. Several also make use of some enabling technology, like a handheld, satellite connectivity, or innovative software. Projects that have developed an online information portal, or focus on empowering youth round out the top five classifications.

Figure 9: Regional Distribution of Projects based on Activity Type

The total number of projects of a specific activity type within a region is illustrated in Figure 9 above. Overall, Asia is home to the greatest number of projects for each categorization, not surprising since a third of the projects in the Clearinghouse are from that region.

Figure 10: Proportional Distribution of Activity Types based on Overall Project Numbers for Each Region

The total number of projects of a specific activity type within a region was compared with the overall number of projects included from that region in the Clearinghouse. The results in Figure 10 illustrate which activity types are over- or under-represented within a specific region. For example, 56% of the agriculture projects in the Clearinghouse are located in Asia, even though overall only 36% of projects in the Clearinghouse come from that region. This is 52% more than would be expected if the number of agricultural projects in Asia was proportional to the number of projects in Asia overall.

Asia has a high number of both agriculture and e-governance projects, but lacks in those that build capacities of NGOs. Africa is strong in healthcare, education and telecenters, but has fewer than expected e-commerce and e-governance projects. Latin America has a good number of telecenter projects, but lags in both agricultural and healthcare-related initiatives. Western-based projects in North America and Europe are focused more on NGO capacity building, information portals, and e-commerce development, than on agriculture, e-governance, and telecenters.

You can learn more about the specific projects in each country using the Clearinghouse Search Page. If you know of a project that should be included in the Clearinghouse, please e-mail us at dividends@wri.org, or you can submit the project yourself online.