Worldwide spending on IT topped US$2.1 trillion in 1999, but that's chicken feed. It should top US$3 trillion in 2003, according to a major new study.

Global spending on information and communication technology topped US$2.1 trillion in 1999 and is projected to surpass US$3 trillion in 2003, according to Digital Planet 2000: The Global Information Economy, a major new study of the information technology marketplace around the globe.

The study, produced by the World Information Technology and Services Alliance (WITSA) and the high-tech research firm International Data Corporation (IDC), is based on data gathered in the 55 largest information-technology buying countries and regions, representing 98 percent of worldwide information technology spending. The data includes spending on computer hardware, software and services, telecommunications hardware and services, office equipment, and internal information technology spending. It also covers money spent on information-technology employees.

"Information and communications technology is a fast-growing market in the global society," said WITSA President Harris N. Miller. "With an annual growth rate of 9 percent - faster than the growth rate of global GDP - [information and communications technology] continues to outpace most economic sectors and the potential for future growth is still extraordinary."

Miller added, "Digital Planet 2000 tells an important story about the digital opportunity presented by emerging markets in [information and communications technology] because it encompasses eight years of spending data. Growth in [information and communications technology] spending in Eastern Europe and Latin America both reached 42 percent between 1997 and 1999, far outpacing the mature markets of Western Europe and North America, which saw growth of 13 and 15 percent respectively during the same period. "

Other study findings:

• The top ten information economies represent 80 percent of the global ICT market

• The total number of Internet devices worldwide grew to 260 million in 1999, adding 90 million in that year alone

• PCs installed in schools, homes and businesses reached nearly 400 million by 1999, with the number of PCs installed in classrooms tripling between 1992 and 1999

• North America, as a region, continues to lead the globe in overall ICT spending, which reached US$796 billion in 1999; Eastern Europe was the region spending the least with $30 billion the same year

• The Middle East and Africa saw spending growth of 26 percent between 1997 and 1999

• ICT spending in the Asia-Pacific Region grew 18 percent between 1997 and 1999

• Sweden led the world in ICT spending as a percentage of GDP, at 9.6 percent

• Switzerland spent over US$3,200 per person on ICT in 1999 - the highest nation per capita, while the United States came in third at US$2,717 per person in 1999.

The study, published by WITSA, will be available in September. A summary is available for free, however, at www.witsa.org

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