How the WRDL Differs From Other Reports on the Digital Divide

The WRDL focuses exclusively on qualitative, rather than quantitative, data. As such, Certiport seeks input from key individuals who are knowledgeable about the initiatives and implementations that have taken place in their countries for the expressed purpose of addressing the Digital Divide (typically government Ministers of Education and Technology, ambassadors and consulates serving abroad, and influential and informed leaders of business and industry).

Conversely, most other reports on the Digital Divide are more quantitative, relying on census figures or representative sampling. As a result, the data is often an indirect measure of the actual size of the Digital Divide, since “proxy” indicators (e.g. number of Internet subscribers per 1000 people; number of mobile subscribers per 1000 people; number of schools with Internet access, etc.) are often used.

Another fundamental difference between the WRDL and other published reports on the Digital Divide is that the WRDL assumes the Digital Divide is not only an access divide, but a skills divide as well. Other reports focus almost exclusively on ICT infrastructure (via proxy indicators) as a way to correctly gauge the Digital Divide. In considering the skills component of the Digital Divide, many reports base their estimates on more indirect measures, such as “percentage of population graduating from college”—things that may or may not portend digital literacy.