UNITEDNATIONSCONFERENCEONTRADEANDDEVELOPMENTVALUECREATIONANDCAPTURE:IMPLICATIONSFORDEVELOPINGCOUNTRIESDIGITALECONOMYREPORT2019EMBARGOThecontentsofthisReportmustnotbequotedorsummarizedintheprint,broadcastorelectronicmediabefore4September2019,17:00hoursGMTDIGITALECONOMYREPORT2019UNCTADUNITEDNATIONSUNITEDNATIONSCONFERENCEONTRADEANDDEVELOPMENTVALUECREATIONANDCAPTURE:IMPLICATIONSFORDEVELOPINGCOUNTRIESDIGITALECONOMYREPORT2019EMBARGOThecontentsofthisReportmustnotbequotedorsummarizedintheprint,broadcastorelectronicmediabefore4September2019,17:00hoursGMTLayoutandPrintingatUnitedNations,Geneva1911016(E)–July2019–3,151UNCTAD/DER/2019UnitedNationspublicationISBN978-92-1-112955-7UNITEDNATIONSCONFERENCEONTRADEANDDEVELOPMENTVALUECREATIONANDCAPTURE:IMPLICATIONSFORDEVELOPINGCOUNTRIESDIGITALECONOMYREPORT2019Geneva,2019ii©2019,UnitedNationsAllrightsreservedworldwideRequeststoreproduceexcerptsortophotocopyshouldbeaddressedtotheCopyrightClearanceCenteratcopyright.com.Allotherqueriesonrightsandlicences,includingsubsidiaryrights,shouldbeaddressedto:UnitedNationsPublications,300East42ndStreet,NewYork,NewYork10017,UnitedStatesofAmericaEmail:publications@un.orgWebsite:un.org/publicationsThedesignationsemployedandthepresentationofmaterialonanymapinthisworkdonotimplytheexpressionofanyopinionwhatsoeveronthepartoftheUnitedNationsconcerningthelegalstatusofanycountry,territory,cityorareaorofitsauthorities,orconcerningthedelimitationofitsfrontiersorboundaries.MentionofanyfirmorlicensedprocessdoesnotimplytheendorsementoftheUnitedNations.Thispublicationhasbeeneditedexternally.UnitedNationspublicationissuedbytheUnitedNationsConferenceonTradeandDevelopment.UNCTAD/DER/2019ISBN978-92-1-112955-7eISBN978-92-1-004216-1PrintISSN2664-2255eISSN2664-2263SalesNo.E.19.II.D.17iiiNOTENoteWithintheUNCTADDivisiononTechnologyandLogistics,theICTPolicySectioncarriesoutpolicy-orientedanalyticalworkonthedevelopmentimplicationsofinformationandcommunicationstechnologies(ICTs)ande-commerce.ItisresponsibleforthepreparationoftheDigitalEconomyReport,previouslyknownastheInformationEconomyReport.TheICTPolicySectionpromotesinternationaldialogueonissuesrelatedtoICTsfordevelopment,andcontributestobuildingdevelopingcountries’capacitiestomeasuree-commerceandthedigitaleconomyandtodesignandimplementrelevantpoliciesandlegalframeworks.TheSectionalsomanagestheeTradeforallinitiative.InthisReport,thetermscountry/economyrefer,asappropriate,toterritoriesorareas.Thedesignationsofcountrygroupsareintendedsolelyforstatisticaloranalyticalconvenience,anddonotnecessarilyexpressajudgementaboutthestageofdevelopmentreachedbyaparticularcountryorareainthedevelopmentprocess.Unlessotherwiseindicated,themajorcountrygroupingsusedinthisReportfollowtheclassificationoftheUnitedNationsStatisticalOffice.Theseare:Developedcountries:themembercountriesoftheOrganisationforEconomicCo-operationandDevelopment(OECD)(otherthanChile,Mexico,theRepublicofKoreaandTurkey),plustheEuropeanUnionmembercountriesthatarenotOECDmembers(Bulgaria,Croatia,Cyprus,Lithuania,MaltaandRomania),plusAndorra,Liechtenstein,MonacoandSanMarino.CountrieswitheconomiesintransitionreferstothoseinSouth-EastEuropeandtheCommonwealthofIndependentStates.Developingeconomiesingeneralarealltheeconomiesthatarenotspecifiedabove.Forstatisticalpurposes,thedataforChinadonotincludethoseforHongKongSpecialAdministrativeRegionofChina(HongKong,China),MacaoSpecialAdministrativeRegionofChina(Macao,China)orTaiwanProvinceofChina.AnexcelfilewiththemaincountrygroupingsusedcanbedownloadedfromUNCTADstatat:“dollars”($)referstoUnitedStatesdollars,unlessotherwiseindicated.Theterm“billion”signifies1,000million.Thefollowingsymbolsmayhavebeenusedinthetables:Twodots(..)indicatethatdataarenotavailableorarenotseparatelyreported.Rowsintableshavebeenomittedinthosecaseswherenodataareavailableforanyoftheelementsintherow.Adash(–)indicatesthattheitemisequaltozerooritsvalueisnegligible.Ablankinatableindicatesthattheitemisnotapplicable,unlessotherwiseindicated.Aslash(/)betweendatesrepresentingyears,e.g.1994/95,indicatesafinancialyear.Useofanendash(–)betweendatesrepresentingyears,e.g.1994–1995,signifiesthefullperiodinvolved,includingthebeginningandendyears.Annualratesofgrowthorchange,unlessotherwisestated,refertoannualcompoundrates.Detailsandpercentagesintablesdonotnecessarilyadduptothetotalsbecauseofrounding.DIGITALECONOMYREPORT2019ivPrefaceThedigitalrevolutionhastransformedourlivesandsocietieswithunprecedentedspeedandscale,deliveringimmenseopportunitiesaswellasdauntingchallenges.NewtechnologiescanmakesignificantcontributionstorealizingtheSustainableDevelopmentGoals,butwecannottakepositiveoutcomesforgranted.Wemusturgentlyimproveinternationalcooperation