Candidate countries fall below EU average in IT takeup
A European Commission survey has revealed that the candidate countries are significantly lagging behind current EU members in the IT sector. The 13 candidate countries averaged seven personal computers per 100 inhabitants last year, compared with 31 in the EU and 65 in the US, the study found. Candidate countries have eight internet users per 100 inhabitants on average, a quarter of that in the EU and around a sixth of that in the US. Mobile phone use reached 31 per cent among the candidate states, compared with 72 per cent in the EU and 44 per cent in the US. However, these statistics hide significant variations within the bloc of candidate countries. Slovenia, Malta, and Cyprus are close to the EU average in terms of PC density while Estonia and Slovenia are only slightly below the EU level of internet use. Slovenia's mobile penetration is at nearly 76 per cent, which is even higher than the EU average. The Czech Republic and Hungary are close to reaching these levels as well. However, candidate country statistics have dropped due to lower numbers found in some, including Poland, Bulgaria and Romania. With its large population, Poland had only 8.5 PCs per 100 people, 9.8 internet users per 100 inhabitants, and a mobile penetration of 26 per cent. Further east, in Bulgaria and Romania, the lack of necessary capital is holding back technological adoption. Although there are numerous technological parks and some corporate investment, the survey found that the average consumer cannot afford mobile and computing services. CPA