Low Connectivity Ranking But Positive Future Outlook For Poland

Poland finds itself at the bottom of the 2009 Connectivity Scorecard (for Innovation-driven Economies) although there are reasons for optimism.

Consumer Internet usage falls slightly below that found in most Western European countries, coupled with low broadband penetration.  Conversely, mobile penetration is excellent.  From a business connectivity perspective, despite low overall scores on most metrics the percentage of occupations requiring ICT skills or involving ICT specialists approaches or surpasses that of many other countries in Europe.  Poland’s E-Government score falls just below the median for other countries in the sample.

The country’s low GDP could explain a significant portion of the low scores, and an argument could be made that Poland’s economic circumstances exclude it from being examined alongside other Innovation-driven economies.  Poland’s large domestic market suggests it may be able to compete well against other Eastern European nations and dramatically improve their connectivity situation through the roll-out of state of the art technology.

Poland Connectivity Performance by Scorecard Component