Global success in information technology

The global statistics on information and communication technology give some of the clearest indications of the benefits of economic growth for the mass of humanity. According to a flyer on The World in 2009 (PDF) from the International Telecommunications Union some 4.6 billion people, two-thirds of the world’s population, had a mobile phone by the end of the year. This compares with about 10% in 2000. Also last year: more than a quarter of the world’s population were using the internet, more than a quarter of the world’s population had access to a computer at home and three quarters of households had a television. Of course it would be even better if access to such technologies was universal but the trend is clearly in the right direction.