The International Telecommunications Union has recently compiled a survey ranking Information and Communication Technology around the world, which gave some surprising results (International http://www.itu.int/newsarchive/press_releases/2003/30,html). Sweden had the highest access, with Denmark, Iceland, the Republic of Korea, Norway, the Netherlands, Hong Kong/China, Finland, Taiwan/China, and Canada tied with the United States rounding out the top ten. Most of Africa falls into the low access zone. More than 10 percent of the world's population lives in Africa, yet Africa has less than one percent of the world's internet users (Faenza http://faulty.darden.edu/gbus885-00/Papers/PDFs). The United States Internet Council's State of the Internet Report 2000 cites only three million users in Africa, compared to 136 million in North America, 83 million in Europe, and 69 million in Asia. The world averages one internet user per 35 people, but in Africa the ratio is only one user per 250 people. According to the United Nations, Africa, with 780 million people, has only as many internet hosts as Latvia, which has a population of only 2.5 million people.
It has been predicted by Frances Cairncross, senior editor for the Economist and author of The Death of Distance: How the Communications Revolution Will Change Our Lives, predicts that before long people will organize globally on the basis of language and three basic time shifts - one for the Americas, one for Europe, and one for East Asia and Australia (Cairncross 53). She points out that work done on a computer can be done from anywhere, and with workers able to earn a living from anywhere, countries may have to compete for citizens relocating for reasons such as lower taxes or nicer climates. She predicts an unavoidable loss of privacy and a diminishing need for emigration.
Cairncross, F. The Death of Distance: How the Communications Revolution Will Change Our L
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