South Asia’s Digital Economy : An Opportunity to Build Back Better, Digitally
This report provides a region-wide analysis on the status of the digital economy in South Asia. It identifies opportunities and challenges for national and regional action to realize the transformational potential of digitalizing economies, societi...
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| Format: | Report |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Washington, DC
2022
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| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/099230004062228270/P1723000e5e0d20908c790a5ffdda147f1 http://hdl.handle.net/10986/37292 |
| Summary: | This report provides a region-wide
analysis on the status of the digital economy in South Asia.
It identifies opportunities and challenges for national and
regional action to realize the transformational potential of
digitalizing economies, societies, and governments. The
report synthesizes and builds upon country assessments
produced for Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India,
Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. It follows the
World Bank’s digital economy assessment framework, covering
different dimensions of the digital economy from digital
infrastructure and public platforms to digital financial
services, skills, and the trust environment. It also
discusses the opportunities and benefits of regional
integration and collaboration. First and foremost, enabling
access to high-quality affordable broadband, and increasing
its adoption, will yield substantial social and economic
benefits. These benefits include better access to
information, education, and training, greater administrative
efficiency in public services, and improved economic growth
and productivity. There are currently significant gaps in
connectivity access and usage within and across South Asian
countries. While most countries have closed the gaps in
mobile network coverage, fixed broadband coverage remains a
challenge. The usage gap (represented by the number of
people living within range of a mobile network but not using
the Internet) remains the region’s biggest challenge, and is
driven by gaps in digital literacy, gaps in affordability
for the poorest quintiles, and a lack of relevant content
and applications. While there is significant diversity
across South Asia, countries in the region might consider
adopting a twin-track approach as follows: a) implement
policies to enhance competition and attract private sector
investment for the upgrade and roll out digital
infrastructure, especially for fixed fiber networks that
connect users over the middle and last miles, and b) invest
heavily in demand-side policies and programs to enhance
digital skills and increase affordability, especially for
the poorest in the region. |
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