Pew Research have just released a new report detailing how emerging nations are embracing the internet — particularly through mobile technology. This is a rich, deep and fascinating report that focuses on 24 nations ranging from China where 95% of the population own a cell phone to Pakistan where cell phone ownership stands at 53%.
We know that about 40% of the world use the internet, and unsurprisingly those who use it most are in developed countries. But the rest of the world is rapidly embracing technology too. Across the surveyed countries only 20% of people said they have a landline at home. Many people have skipped landlines and gone straight to using mobile technology. Using Kenya as an example we can see that only 1% of people have a landline, but almost 70% use mobile phones for financial transactions.
The survey covers how people around the world are using their mobile phones for an increasing variety of purposes: texting, taking photos, finding information, making payments.
The report delves into some fascinating insights. We’ve seen it in the news countless times over the past couple of years, but evidently one of the biggest impacts of technology is in the increased flow of information and ideas. For example 75% of people in Venezuela said that social networking had revealed something new about their political beliefs.
Two of the projects that I'm leading at the moment are ambitious multimedia digital projects that are seeking to make an impact in developing countries where the range of available technology and access to the internet is far more limited than in the West. But how that is changing! These projects are very different from each other, but both incorporating a vision that is backed up by this research.
Greater Technology Use Linked to Higher Per Capita Income
Technology usage is strongly correlated with national income across the countries surveyed. Countries with a higher GDP per capita generally have higher rates of smartphone ownership and internet and social networking use, while poorer countries tend to have lower rates of technology usage. Mouse over the countries below to reveal technology use and GDP per capita data for all 24 of the countries surveyed.
Internet Use Smartphone Ownership Social Networking
Correlation: 0.801
Created with Highcharts 4.1.4 Estimated 2013 GDP per capita (PPP, current international $) % who use/own selected technology *
- Based on total sample
Source: Pew Research Center, Spring 2013 survey, Emerging Nations Embrace Internet, Mobile Technology; Data for GDP per capita (PPP) from IMF World Economic Outlook, October 2013