Rendering of services in the information and computer technology (ICT) sector have become a common phenomenon around the world of today. Countries are currently applying technology to support the various sectors of the economy including business, education, healthcare, research, entertainment and tourism. Some of the standard ICT products and services that have become popular in most countries include mobile phones, the internet, computer, land phones, voice mails, online conferencing, web services and data storage. ICT services have contributed to the reemergence of companies such as Apple through innovation of new productions. Globalization of the ICT industry has led to significant changes in the ICT sector and trade between countries. Most countries both in the developed and developing the world are increasingly exporting ICT and telecom services to other countries to meet their demands. Some of the countries with the largest ICT sector shares of total export services are detailed below.
The government of Ghana has identified exports of ICT services as a potential trade that will push the country into the digital marketplace and Information Age, while at the same time generating revenue for the country’s growth and development. ICT service export has increased due to the enactment of the National Broadband Strategy in 2012. The strategy improved competition and innovation in the ICT sector thereby improving the overall productivity of the industry. While Ghana is known as one of the leading agricultural export countries in Africa, non-agricultural exports such as ICT services, education, healthcare services, and hospitality services continue to grow. ICT and telecom services such as telephone services, communication, and computer services account for 78% of all the service exports in Ghana, ranking the country as the highest ICT service exporter by the proportion of service export.
Finland is one of the leading exporters and users of ICT products and services in the world today, raising its competitive potential in the international marketplace. Finland’s economy depends highly on ICT sector with a third of the country’s export being ICT related product. Apart from Ireland, Finland is the only country that runs a surplus in high tech products and services in foreign trade. Nokia is a major player in the Finnish ICT sector promoting its service export even further. The country exports ICT products such as telecommunication services, computer services, and cell phone services. ICT service export accounts for 75% of all service exports out of Finland.
Israel’s high tech industry sector has grown significantly over the last decade, as indicated by the declining traditional industries and the growth of high tech industries. Software export has increased by over 275% while there are hundreds of ICT incubators across the country. Israel’s internal market is too small to support all of the local production, and thus the country has turned towards the marketing and distribution of its ICT services into foreign markets. Israel’s ICT service export which accounts for 74% of its total service export includes software and software engineers, telecommunication device operators and computer specialists.
With the rising demands for ICT services, especially by the developing economies, countries with a surplus of such services such as Finland and Israel continue to benefit. The share of ICT service export also continues to grow in most countries because of the high investments, especially in the high tech sector.
Largest ICT And Telecom Export Sectors Relative To Total Service Exports
|Rank||Country||Share of Service Exports from the Computer and Communications Sectors|