Dubai |By A Staff Reporter | Gulf News 13-10-2002
Despite the gains made by some countries in the region, the Middle East lags behind the rest of the world in access to information and communication technologies, according to a senior official with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
While Arabs represent five per cent of the global population, in Internet usage they make up only 0.5 per cent. The Arab world also has the lowest number of websites.
The numbers could have been a lot worse without the UAE, Egypt, Jordan and Bahrain. The UAE is ranked 21st in e-government, ahead of Japan and Ireland.
“Although Arab countries spend a higher percentage of GDP on education than any other developing region, the knowledge deficit is now one of the major barriers to development in the Arab world,” said Nadir Jadj Hammou, the UNDP representative for the UAE.
“Lack of infrastructure, the high cost of Internet access, Arab brain drain and lack of enough web content in Arabic all hold back economic development,” he commented.
In response, the UNDP recently launched a programme to develop IT in the region. There will be particular effort to increase IT in government, business and education.
“Investments are needed in specialised computer personnel and Arabic language software for general education, adult training and life-long learning,” said Hammou.
The UN official was speaking at the opening of the Gitex 2002 Technology Conferences.