ICT Access 1. Fixed-telephone subscriptions per 100 inhabitants 2. Mobile-cellular telephone subscriptions per 100 inhabitants 3. International Internet bandwidth (bit/s) per internet user 4. Percentage of households with a computer 5. Percentage of households with Internet access ICT Use 6. Percentage of individuals using the Internet 7. Fixed-broadband subscriptions per 100 inhabitants 8. Active mobile-broadband subscriptions per 100 inhabitants ICT Skills 9. Mean years of schooling 10. Secondary gross enrolment ratio 11. Tertiary gross enrolment ratio Figure 2: IDI sub-index components as defined by the ITU The IDI has been used to compare Kiribati with the Small Islands Developing States (SIDS) in the Pacific which are listed amongst the Least Developed Countries (LDCs), according to the UN system of classification. These comparisons are shown in Table 1 Noting that Kiribati’s widely scattered islands make it possibly the most difficult and expensive country in the world in which to provide a comprehensive coverage of telecommunication services, it is no great surprise to find its IDI ranking for 2017 is number 154 out of a total of 176 countries. This is further emphasised by its sub-index rankings of 169 and 170 for access and use respectively. However, there are some bright spots in this otherwise gloomy picture. The skills subindex ranking of 117 out of 176 countries, represents a more educated population placing Kiribati well ahead of the other LDC SIDS in the Pacific. Kiribati’s most spectacular performance in the IDI league table is the year on year (2016 to 2017) increase in the access sub-index, where Kiribati stands as number 12 in the whole world. This suggests the prospect of a bright future for Kiribati’s IDI and, more importantly, for its national ICT performance, built on the strong base of a well-educated population (by LDC standards) and the evidence of the effectiveness of the Government’s policies and projects to improve coverage and access. Kiribati National ICT Policy 2019 7