Digital development leader in Latin America
According to the Measuring the Information Society Report 2017, the new United Nations index places the country in the most advanced quartile worldwide.
The International Telecommunications Union presented the “Measuring the Information Society Report 2017” at the World Telecommunication/ICT Indicators Symposium (WTIS) held in Tunisia.
The report is based on the ICT Development Index (IDI), a compendium of 11 indicators of access, use and skills, in which Uruguay is ranked 42 among 176 countries, growing in all dimensions with respect to the measurement of the previous year and achieving a leap of 6 places.
Only six countries, including Uruguay, improved over five positions between 2016 and 2017. Uruguay reaches an IDI of 7.16, significantly higher than the world average (5.11) and regional (5.21) and close to the average of developed countries (7.52).
In 2007, Uruguay had an IDI of 3.88 and was surpassed in the region by Argentina and Chile. Over the last 10 years, the country's digital development has been guided by a continuous digital policy that has evolved according to its needs. This is highlighted by the ITU in the country´s profile that includes: “The current agenda, Agenda Uruguay Digital 2020, recognizes the importance of ICT for the development of other sectors and for the creation of a more direct relationship between citizens and the Government, without leaving aside the importance of digital policies and online security”.
Regarding the analyzed dimensions, Uruguay climbs three positions in the access subindex (from 52 to 49), four places in the use subindex (from 38 to 34) and one in the skills subindex (from 62 to 61). As was the case the previous year, the significant increase in active mobile broadband subscriptions is the indicator with the greatest impact on the country's growth in the index (from 61% to 102% over the last two years).
Other aspects mentioned in the report are the high adoption rates of fixed broadband, especially fiber optic, the improvement of international connectivity with the submarine cable system, and access to personal computers for all children in public education. Posed challenges are completing LTE coverage and improving connection speed.
“Uruguay has shown remarkable development during the last decade, especially in terms of universal access. Closing the digital divide has been a priority for the Uruguayan authorities, ensuring that the vast majority of households have broadband access. The government has made efforts to ensure that low-income groups have access to the Internet,” the report concludes.