Governance is widely recognized to be a key determinant of economic success and
human welfare. We therefore also include two measures of governance: rule of law
and voice and accountability. These indexes are defined and compiled by researchers
at the World Bank using an aggregation of the best available data. The authors of the
indexes define them in the following way:
Rule of law includes several indicators that measure the extent to which agents have
confidence in and abide by the rules of society. These include perceptions of the incidence of crime, the effectiveness and predictability of the judiciary, and the enforceability of contracts.
Voice and accountability includes a number of indicators measuring various aspects
of the political process, civil liberties, and political and human rights, measuring
the extent to which citizens of a country are able to participate in the selection of
governments.
An aggregate view of the state of democracy is provided by the Economist Intelligence Unit’s index of democracy. This index is based on five categories: electoral
process and pluralism; civil liberties; the functioning of government; political participation; and political culture. The 165 states included in this index are placed within
one of four regime type categories; full democracies, flawed democracies, hybrid
regimes, and authoritarian regimes.
We also include two measures of Internet accessibility provided by the International
Telecommunication Union: the digital opportunity index (DOI) and Internet users as
a percentage of the population. The DOI is based on 11 core information and communication technology (ICT) indicators that are agreed upon by the International
Telecommunication Union’s Partnership on Measuring ICT for Development. These
are grouped in three clusters by type: opportunity, infrastructure, and utilization. The
DOI therefore captures the overall potential for and context of Internet availability
rather than usage alone. The measure of Internet access, the Internet penetration
rate, is simply the percentage of the population identified as active Internet users.
Additional Internet penetration rate indicators are drawn from the Miniwatts Marketing Group, which compiles the latest Internet usage statistics from a range of
reputable international and local sources including the ITU, Gfk Group, and Nielson
Online.
Internet regulation and filtering practices are often dynamic processes, subject to
frequent change, though we expect that the political climate and the aggregate view
of the issues reflected in these profiles will change more slowly than the specific instances of filtering. As the context for content regulation and the practice of Internet
filtering evolve, updates will be made to the country profiles, and new countries may
be added. These updates will be available at http://www.opennet.net.
Introduction to the Country Profiles
113
human welfare. We therefore also include two measures of governance: rule of law
and voice and accountability. These indexes are defined and compiled by researchers
at the World Bank using an aggregation of the best available data. The authors of the
indexes define them in the following way:
Rule of law includes several indicators that measure the extent to which agents have
confidence in and abide by the rules of society. These include perceptions of the incidence of crime, the effectiveness and predictability of the judiciary, and the enforceability of contracts.
Voice and accountability includes a number of indicators measuring various aspects
of the political process, civil liberties, and political and human rights, measuring
the extent to which citizens of a country are able to participate in the selection of
governments.
An aggregate view of the state of democracy is provided by the Economist Intelligence Unit’s index of democracy. This index is based on five categories: electoral
process and pluralism; civil liberties; the functioning of government; political participation; and political culture. The 165 states included in this index are placed within
one of four regime type categories; full democracies, flawed democracies, hybrid
regimes, and authoritarian regimes.
We also include two measures of Internet accessibility provided by the International
Telecommunication Union: the digital opportunity index (DOI) and Internet users as
a percentage of the population. The DOI is based on 11 core information and communication technology (ICT) indicators that are agreed upon by the International
Telecommunication Union’s Partnership on Measuring ICT for Development. These
are grouped in three clusters by type: opportunity, infrastructure, and utilization. The
DOI therefore captures the overall potential for and context of Internet availability
rather than usage alone. The measure of Internet access, the Internet penetration
rate, is simply the percentage of the population identified as active Internet users.
Additional Internet penetration rate indicators are drawn from the Miniwatts Marketing Group, which compiles the latest Internet usage statistics from a range of
reputable international and local sources including the ITU, Gfk Group, and Nielson
Online.
Internet regulation and filtering practices are often dynamic processes, subject to
frequent change, though we expect that the political climate and the aggregate view
of the issues reflected in these profiles will change more slowly than the specific instances of filtering. As the context for content regulation and the practice of Internet
filtering evolve, updates will be made to the country profiles, and new countries may
be added. These updates will be available at http://www.opennet.net.
Introduction to the Country Profiles
113