Ranked 135 among 157 countries
Bangladesh has been ranked 135 in the ICT Development Index 2012 among the 157 countries hitting the lowest value in the Asia Pacific region, said a report of International Telecommunication Union on Monday. The report titled ‘Measuring the Information Society 2013’ said although Bangladesh moved up by four ranks in the latest IDI, it had the lowest IDI value in the region.
The ICT Development Index is a composite index combining 11 indicators into one benchmark measure that serves to monitor and compare developments in information and communication technology across the countries.
The IDI was developed by ITU in 2008 and first presented in the 2009 edition of Measuring the Information Society.
South Korea topped the IDI rank for the third time in a row in 2013 where China was ranked 78, India 121 and Niger was ranked the last among the countries.
In the latest MIS report Bangladesh made it in the dynamic country list of the report but failed to reach near the developing countries average IDI value of 3.44.
According to the report, Bangladesh’s IDI value remained in below 2 and ranked the lowest in the region below Pakistan and Myanmar.
‘Bangladesh made most progress in the access sub-index, in particular with regard to mobile-cellular penetration and international internet connectivity. Nonetheless, Bangladesh still remains at the bottom of the regional ranking and in 135th position globally,’ said the report.
The report said, ‘According to the ICT Price Basket, Bangladesh has relatively affordable mobile-cellular prices and that prices have dropped consistently over the past years.’
‘Operators in Bangladesh are competing for a large group of low-income customers and were thus obliged to reduce access costs,’ it said.
‘This year’s IDI figures show much reason for optimism, with governments clearly prioritising ICTs as a major lever of socio-economic growth, resulting in better access and lower prices,’ ITU secretary-general Hamadoun I Touré said while releasing the report.
-With New Age input
