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Mobile subscriber penetration 110%
Internet user penetration n/a
Broadband subscriber penetration 17%

Source: EIU CountryData, OECD, 2006 estimates.




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Sweden : ICT star

FROM THE GLOBAL TECHNOLOGY FORUM

Swedenenjoys high R&D spending on ICT and the top number of the fast fibre connections. But despite taking off in 2006, usage of eBusiness tools is below average.

With a broadband penetration of 89%, Sweden has the fourth highest number of fast connections at home, according to a new EU report*. It also enjoys the largest number of fast optic fibre connections, last estimated at 300,000.

The Nordic country stands out for the prominence of ICT in research & development and total employment. In 2003 the country spent a third of its R&D budget on ICT – amounting to 1% of its GDP, second only to Finland (at 1.6%) and three times more than the EU average**. Meanwhile 5.5% of all employees worked in the ICT sector in 2003, second only to Ireland with 6.2%.

e-Commerce activity and ICT skills are equally impressive. The country enjoys Europe's highest rate of employees with ICT specialist skills, and 53% of its employees use the internet at work, well above the EU norm of 36%. Swedish businesses are also Europe's top online buyers.

But in contrast – and surprisingly for the nation known for its entrepreneurial flair – Sweden is strikingly behind in implementing eBusiness tools. Similarly to the UK, Sweden ranks 20 and 17 respectively in companies' use of software for managing orders linked to internal and external IT systems. –Eva Tallaksen

i2010 Annual Report: Sweden

Broadband

2004

2005

2006

Rank

Total DSL coverage (as % of total population)

96.0

93.5

 

8

DSL coverage in rural areas (as % of total population)

 

66.0

 

14

Broadband penetration (as % of population)

13.6

19.3

24.5

4

DSL penetration (as % of population)

8.4

12.5

16.0

6

Predominant download speed

 

1-2Mbps

 

 

Households having broadband (as % of those having access to the internet at home)

 

55.4

65.9

14

% of enterprises with broadband access

 

82.5

88.9

3

Number of 3G subscribers per 100 inhabitants

 

8.3

 

5

Digital Television in households

 

44.3

 

3

Music: number of single downloads per 100 inhabitants

 

44.4

 

2

Internet Usage

 

 

 

 

% population who are regular internet users

75.3

75.9

79.8

2

Take up of internet services (as % of population)

 

 

 

 

Sending emails

63.6

67.4

73.6

4

Looking for information about goods and services

59.3

69.8

74.0

2

Internet telephoning or videoconferencing

3.8

4.5

8.6

12

Playing/downloading games and music

23.1

31.4

33.8

4

Listening to the web radio/watching web tv

12.7

20.5

28.5

3

Reading online newspapers/magazines

28.0

39.1

41.3

6

Internet banking

40.3

50.7

56.9

6

Places of access

 

 

 

 

% at home

69.3

70.7

77.1

2

% at work

36.9

39.7

38.4

6

% at educational place

11.4

11.8

11.8

5

% at PIAP

8.2

5.1

4.8

17

eGovernment Indicators

 

 

 

 

% basic public services for citizens fully available online

63.6

 

63.6

4

% basic public services for enterprises fully available online

87.5

 

87.5

3

% of population using e-Government services

of which for returning filled in forms

38

11

52

21

 

 

% of enterprises using e-Government services

of which for returning filled in forms

92

52

80

48

80

53

9

13

ICT in schools

 

 

 

 

Number of computers connected per 100 pupils

 

 

16.5

6

% of schools with broadband access

 

 

89.0

7

% of teachers having used the computer in class during the last 12 months

 

 

90.9

3

e-Commerce

 

 

 

 

E-commerce as % of total turnover of enterprises

 

 

13.6

8

% enterprises receiving internet orders

19.4

22.4

23.4

5

% enterprises purchasing on the internet

68.4

66.7

70.0

1

e-business. % enterprises:

 

 

 

 

with integrated internal business processes

24.9

25.3

28.0

17

with integrated external business processes

8.9

8.3

8.8

20

Security: % enterprises using Secure servers

49.1

53.7

57.9

4

% using digital signatures for authentication

15.2

16.1

17.5

4

Employment and Skills

 

 

 

 

% employees using computers connected to the Internet

52.1

53.3

52.9

3

% of persons employed with ICT user skills.

20.0

18.9

19.4

9

% of persons employed with ICT specialist skills

4.4

4.9

4.9

1

Indicators on growth of ICT sector and R&D

 

 

 

 

ICT sector share of total GDP

 

 

 

8

ICT sector share of total employment

 

 

 

2

ICT sector growth (constant prices).

 

 

 

9

R&D expenditure in ICT by the business sector, as % of GDP

 

 

 

2

===    as % of total R&D expenditure

 

 

 

4

*"i2010 annual report 2007, European Commission"

**The average refers to the 2005 EU average, excluding Romania and Bulgaria. The i2010 report assessed the 27 EU members plus Norway and Iceland.

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SOURCE:  The Economist Intelligence Unit




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