By 
By Oluwatobi Opusunju
Despite being Africa’s largest telecom market with more than 140 million mobile subscribers and the continent’s largest economy, Nigeria has been ranked 15th in information communication technology (ICT) development in Africa by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). In its most recent 2017 ICT Development Index (IDI), the ITU places Nigeria far Ghana, Gabon and Senegal in the adoption rate of ICT on the continent.
The full list shows Mauritius, Seychelles, South Africa, Cape Verde, Botswana, Gabon, Ghana, Namibia, Cote d’Ivoire, Sao Tome and Principle, Lesotho, Zimbabwe, Kenya and Senegal respectively all rank ahead of Nigeria in ICT development. The annual report is aimed at measuring the level of adoption of new technology trends and growth of ICT globally. About 38 countries in Africa were surveyed for the 2017 report.
Although some countries recorded increase in the adoption rate of ICTs in the last one year, but Nigeria remained stagnant with no development whatsoever, ranking 15th position in Africa and 143rd globally out of 176 countries surveyed by the ITU.
Having maintained the number one spot in Africa for years now,Mauritius is ranked 72nd globally in 2017; an increase from its 75th position in 2016.
Similarly, countries like the Seychelles, which ranked 4th in 2016, moved two positions upward to become 2nd this year while Cote d’Ivoire, which ranked 12th position in 2016, moved up to the 9th position.
Globally, Iceland, Korea (Rep.), Switzerland, Denmark and United Kingdom make up the first five countries respectively with the highest adoption of emerging ICTs.
