IDATE, the non-profit and independent European analyst house specialising in global technology research, has published the 11th edition of the DigiWorld Yearbook. The report provides a concise portrait of the digital economy and finds that total spending on digital technologies and services reached €2,754bn (£2,455bn) in 2010.
The Yearbook highlights annual global growth of 3.3 per cent, with the UK technology sector lagging behind at 0.84 per cent. Other major European economies are experiencing higher overall growth rates, with France and Germany both seeing increases of around 2 per cent in the same period.
Despite the UK technology sector experiencing low growth rates, UK consumers and businesses combined are still Europe’s biggest revenue generators on technology with an average revenue per capita of €2,060 between 2010 and 2011. This compares to an average revenue per capita of €1,230 in Spain, and €1,950 in Germany. The UK’s revenue figures were inflated by especially buoyant share of businesses on technology revenue, which represented 45 per cent of the total, compared to an EU average of 38 per cent of total technology revenues.
“We can see from this year’s figures that growth in the UK is moderate and underperforming European and global peers,” says IDATE CEO, Yves Gassot. “However, we shouldn’t underestimate the resilience of the UK technology market, and it’s encouraging to see business spending on technology was robust during 2010.” 
From a global perspective, N. America has pulled ahead of Europe. Although emerging markets as a group are still driving the planet’s growth, there are significant variances between developing markets. The differences between China and India are especially interesting, the analyst notes, with the Chinese market having managed to translate the rise in unit sales into a rise in revenue, not only at home but also abroad, whereas the Indian market remains largely one of spectacular volume only. To give an example: India’s average 46 per cent increase in mobile customer numbers translated into just a 13 per cent increase in sales revenue for operators. Similar nuances can also be found when comparing Latin American and African markets.
The DigiWorld Yearbook is published in English and French and available in print and PDF format, and for eBook and iPad. There’s more information here.
