Fixed and mobile broadband subscriptions continue to grow apace. The number of worldwide fixed broadband subscriptions increased by 72% in the last ten years, from 531.8 million in 2010 to 916.7 million in 2016. In OECD countries, fixed broadband subscriptions increased from 307.3 million in 2010 to 386.8 million in 2016, an increase of 26%. Mobile broadband growth by far outstripped fixed broadband with worldwide subscriptions increasing from 824.5 million in 2010 to 3 864 million in 2016. At the end of 2016, just over half the world’s population had a mobile broadband subscription. By way of contrast, the average for OECD countries was 99.3%. The pace of change can be rapid, however. Mobile broadband subscriptions in non-OECD countries registered a nine-fold increase over the last decade, with India adding almost 100 million broadband subscriptions in 2016 alone.

Production is being transformed by advances in fields such as big data, 3D printing, machine-to-machine communication and robots. Comparable and representative data for 2015 on the deployment of industrial robot technologies, for example, show that Korea and Japan lead in terms of robot intensity (i.e. the industrial stock of robots over manufacturing value added). Robot intensity in these economies is about three times that of the average OECD country. Selected Eastern European countries also emerge as intensive robot users, perhaps mirroring their specialisation within manufacturing value chains and their possible role as suppliers of large multinational corporations. Robot intensity in Czech Republic, Hungary, the Slovak Republic and Slovenia has increased three to six times since 2005, considerably above the average growth rate for OECD or EU28 countries (+29% and 54%, respectively). Robot intensity in BRICS economies has also increased, while remaining relatively low compared to OECD countries. In particular, robot intensity in China increased from 23% to 88% of that of the United States. However, these figures should be interpreted with caution, since the indicators are based on the quantity of robots active in an economy at a specific moment and do not capture changes in the effectiveness or quality of robots over time.

Today’s digital economy is characterised by connectivity between users and between devices, as well as the convergence of formerly distinct parts of communication ecosystems such as fixed and wireless networks, voice and data, and telecommunications and broadcasting. The Internet and connected devices have become a crucial part of most individuals’ everyday life in OECD countries and emerging economies. The share of Internet users in OECD countries grew on average by 30 percentage points over the last ten years (85% in 2016 as compared to 56% in 2005), and more than doubled in the cases of Greece, Mexico and Turkey. Over 50% of 16-74 year olds in Brazil, China and South Africa use the Internet today, narrowing the gap with OECD countries. Some economies are reaching saturation (uptake by nearly 100% of individuals), while there remains significant potential for catch-up in others, especially lower income countries.