Internet Availability

This entry shows an update for figure 5 in Use of astronomical literature – A report on usage patterns.

The figure shows the number of Internet users per 1000 people in China, India, the USA, Europe and High, Middle and Low Income Countries (source: WRI,EarthTrendsdatabase)

The definitions of high-, middle- and low-income countries are those of the Worldbank: high-income countries are those countries with a Gross National Income per capita (GNC) in 2007 of $11,456 or more, while middle-income countries are those countries with a GNC between $936 and $11,455 and low-income countries are countries with a GNC of less than $935. This figure shows that, using Internet usage as indicator, China changed from being a low-income country to a middle-income country. Extrapolating the trend for Middle Income Countries to 2008, we see that China has completely caught up with this class of countries. Low-income countries do not show a clear flattening trend in the Internet users density, which is clearly present for middle- and high-income countries. This is probably due to the fact that low-income countries still have a lot of potential for growth. The number for the USA even decreased: from 725 in 2007 to 712 in 2008.

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~ by anopisthographs on June 21, 2010.