27-05-2010
Tunisia, a magnetic ICTs pole
Positive indicators recorded by ICTs sector widely acclaimed by international rating agencies
Tunisia has managed, over the past years, to enhance its presence as regional and international site of innovating and high added-value activities. Success of the Tunisian approach, scored particularly thanks to the positive indicators recorded by the information and communication technologies (ICTs) sector, was widely acclaimed by international rating agencies.
In actual fact, Tunisia has topped rankings in Africa and got 39th place in the world, according to the Ninth Global Information Technology Report for 2009-2010.
This report, co-produced by the World Economic Forum and the European Institute of Business Management, assesses countries' capacities to command communication technologies according to three criteria: the appropriate political and economic climate for development of new ICTs and the level of technological progress.
Tunisia ranks 6th (State's success in ICTs promotion) and 7th for the index of importance given by the State's policy to this sector
The report devotes a whole chapter to the Tunisian experience, reviewing the national plans and programmes that have earned Tunisia to be ranked 6th (State's success in ICTs promotion) and 7th for the index of importance given by the State's policy to this sector.
These ratings reflect the Head of State's will to ensure Tunisia's integration into the process of innovation in which ICTs hold a prime position.
The national strategy to promote this sector has focused, in particular, on developing basic infrastructure, strengthening of human resources and digital services and boosting contents industry and the business and innovation environment.
The ICTs sector generates at present nearly 90,000 jobs
This approach helped the sector contribute by more one third to the country's economic growth rate and achieve a growth of over 16% in 2009, in addition to its contribution to the national employment effort (6,300 jobs/year).
The ICTs sector generates at present nearly 90,000 jobs.
Tunisia has also managed to achieve continuous improvement of the rate of broadband Internet connection.
Tunisia's Internet bandwidth connection to the global Internet network is of 37.5 gigabits/second now, compared to 27.5 gigabits in 2009.
The number of Internet users reached 3.6 million in March 2010, compared with 3.5 million in 2009, and the rate of families owning at least one personal computer reached 26%, thanks to the Tunisian households' improved buying power.
Subscribers in broadband Internet network reached 408,000 by late March 2010, compared with 368,000 in late 2009.
The number of subscribers in broadband Internet per 100 inhabitants stood at 3.7% in 2009, compared with 2.2% in 2008, which is well above averages recorded in several other African and Arab countries.
Materialisation of the presidential programme pertaining to the promotion of digital economy
The measures decided at last Wednesday's cabinet meeting, held under President Zine el Abidine Ben Ali's chairmanship, are part of improving the communication technologies sector's contribution to materialisation of the presidential programme in its chapter pertaining to the promotion of digital economy and boosting this strategic sector.
These measures particularly aim to further bring down broadband Internet fees, generalise connection of all ministries to very high-speed Internet and spread this network to 50 additional areas among the services areas, industrial zones, university campuses and hotel centres in 2010, in addition to increasing Tunisia's Internet bandwidth connection to the global Internet network to 40 gigabits/second by late 2010.
