| Code | IT.CMP.HOUS.ZS |
| Indicator Name | Households with a computer (%) |
| Long definition | Households with a computer refers to the percentage of households with a computer at home. A computer includes: a desktop, portable or handheld computer (e.g. a personal digital assistant). It does not include equipment with some embedded computing abilities such as mobile phones or TV sets. |
| Source | International Telecommunication Union, World Telecommunication/ICT Development Report and database. |
| Topic | Infrastructure: Communications |
| Periodicity | Annual |
| Aggregation method | Weighted average |
| Statistical concept and methodology | Households with a computer is calculated by dividing the number of in-scope households with a computer by the total number of in-scope households. Households with a computer is main indicator tracking the spread of computers and it replaced the computer users per 100 people series which were compiled by very few countries. |
| Development relevance | The digital and information revolution has changed the way the world learns, communicates, does business, and treats illnesses. New information and communications technologies (ICT) offer vast opportunities for progress in all walks of life in all countries - opportunities for economic growth, improved health, better service delivery, learning through distance education, and social and cultural advances.
Today's smartphones and tablets have computer power equivalent to that of yesterday's computers and provide a similar range of functions. Device convergence is thus rendering the conventional definition obsolete.
Comparable statistics on access, use, quality, and affordability of ICT are needed to formulate growth-enabling policies for the sector and to monitor and evaluate the sector's impact on development. Although basic access data are available for many countries, in most developing countries little is known about who uses ICT; what they are used for (school, work, business, research, government); and how they affect people and businesses. The global Partnership on Measuring ICT for Development is helping to set standards, harmonize information and communications technology statistics, and build statistical capacity in developing countries. However, despite significant improvements in the developing world, the gap between the ICT haves and have-nots remains. |
| Limitations and exceptions | Operators have traditionally been the main source of telecommunications data, so information on subscriptions has been widely available for most countries. This gives a general idea of access, but a more precise measure is the penetration rate - the share of households with access to telecommunications. During the past few years more information on information and communication technology use has become available from household and business surveys. Also important are data on actual use of telecommunications services. Ideally, statistics on telecommunications (and other information and communications technologies) should be compiled for all three measures: subscriptions, access, and use. The quality of data varies among reporting countries as a result of differences in regulations covering data provision and availability.
Data on households with a computer are collected by national statistics offices through household surveys. Since survey questions and definitions differ, the estimates may not be strictly comparable across countries. In particular, in the "post-PC age" what constitutes a computer is becoming harder to define. Discrepancies between global and national figures may arrive when countries use a different definition than the one used by ITU. Discrepancy may also arise in cases where the end of a fiscal year varies from that used by ITU, which is end of December of every year. A number of countries have fiscal years that end in March or June of every year. |
| General comments | Restricted use: Please cite the International Telecommunication Union for third-party use of these data. This indicator is not available in the World Development Indicators time series database. |
| License URL | https://datacatalog.worldbank.org/public-licenses#cc-by |
| License Type | CC BY-4.0 |
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