Research for BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT, finds world’s most satisfied nations
A new global study from BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT, has found that some of the world’s poorest countries are amongst the happiest thanks to their access to and use of IT. By comparison, some of the richest nations have the least satisfied citizens.
The International Information Well-being Index follows on from the report ‘Information Dividend: Can IT make you happier?’ published earlier this year, which found that there is a connection between access to and use of IT, and happiness.
The Index shows that when adjusting for GDP, and when looking at 11 indicators such as the national percentage of broadband subscribers, some of the richest nations do considerably less well than expected in terms of the happiness levels of their citizens. By contrast, some of the poorest do the best.
‘Our analysis suggests that some nations are making policy, investment, or other decisions, which mean that their citizens are benefitting disproportionately with regards to access to and use of IT, when compared to their GDP. This supports the findings of the initial Information Dividend report, which found that women in the developing world were amongst the most likely to benefit from IT’ said the creator of the Index, social scientist Paul Flatters, Trajectory Partnership.
Zambia came first in the league table, jumping 29 points when the list was adjusted to remove the influence of GDP; Moldova and Brazil. Burkina Faso and Mali were also big winners.
In contrast, when GDP was included, the top three nations for satisfied citizens were Sweden, Netherlands and the US. These fell to 4th, 5th and 13th place respectively once the influence of GDP was discounted. The UK moved from 4th to 11th place.
‘We believe that the ‘Information Society’ should be a place where information technology is used to improve life satisfaction and support our individual and collective goals. How different nations deliver that, and what lessons can be learnt by others in this, will be especially important if we are to achieve our objective. In the UK alone there are over 10 million people who have never even accessed the Internet,’ said Elizabeth Sparrow, President, BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT.
“The findings of the Index support what Computer Aid International has been aware of for some time. The developing world recognises the value and importance of access to and use of IT. Projects on the ground, such as LinkNet’s role in getting the Internet to rural Zambia, are proof that innovation is driving access and use of IT in developing nations” said Anja Ffrench, Director of Marketing and Communications, Computer Aid International.
The implications for this Index could be far-reaching and intriguing with nations potentially opening up to share lessons learned and best practise. The Index appears to reinforce a number of ideas that were devised in the initial report including:
- IT as a means to better social policy outcomes
- Re-emphasises the need for broadband roll-out to close the digital divide
- A clearer idea of where digital inclusion/exclusion is most beneficial/harmful
‘The Index reinforces the findings of our initial report which found that there was a correlation between IT access and happiness. Clearly funding is not the only factor at play when nations try to cultivate the satisfaction of citizens, but access to IT is important and we’d welcome further discussion on this,’ concluded Elizabeth Sparrow.
Key findings from the report and the full Index can be viewed here.
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