NIGERIA MAINTAINS STATUS IN WORLD ICT DEVELOPMENT INDEX

Nigeria has retained its 137th position in the World ICT Development Index. This is
contained in the recent IDI index report of 2016 by the International
Telecommunications Union, ITU. The report showed that Nigerian ICT sector
recorded 2.72 per cent growth in 2016 as against 2.48 seen in 2015. On the fixed
telephony subscription, the Nigerian ICT sector recorded 0.10 per cent growth out of
every 100 inhabitant, while in the mobile-cellular telephony subscriptions per 100 inhabitants, there was 82.10 per cent coverage.
For international Internet bandwidth per internet user (Bit/s), Nigeria spent N2, 986.16 on each user. The per cent of households with computer in Nigeria was 9.84 per cent in
2016, whereas the percentage of households with internet access in Nigeria was 11.40
in the same year. For individuals using the internet, Nigeria recorded 47.44 per cent in
2016. Meanwhile, the active mobile broadband subscriptions per 100 inhabitants in
Nigeria stood at 20.95 per cent also in the year under review. For Nigeria, the report
indicated that Nigeria had 43.83 ration of secondary school enrolment in 2016 and for
tertiary gross enrolment, the country recorded 10.41 ratio. At the regional level,
Nigeria, maintained same position as in 2015 ranked 14 out of 39 African countries
rated in the 2016 study. Mauritius which ranked 73 in the world and 1st in Africa also
maintained its previous position in the rankings as well as Kenya which is 129 in the
world and 9th in Africa. On the other hand, Cape Verde, which is 4th in Africa moved
two steps up from 99 position to 97. Other African countries that moved up are
Botswana 5th in Africa moved from 109 to 108, while Namibia jumped from 121 to
120 and occupies 7th position in Africa. On the global stage, the Republic of Korea
topped the IDI rankings in 2016 for the second consecutive year. The top 10 countries
of the IDI 2016 also include two other economies in the Asia-Pacific region, and
seven European countries. The Director of ITU’s Telecommunication Development
Bureau, Brahima Sanou, which produces the report each year said the three island
countries in the Caribbean: St. Kitts and Nevis, Dominica, and Grenada featured
among the most dynamic countries with strong improvements in their IDI value and
rank.