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Data science for measuring the information society

As digital transformation accelerates, new data sources are providing valuable insights into how societies connect, communicate, and innovate. The use of new data sources and data science offers unique opportunities to complement traditional statistics and enhance the measurement of the information society.

Two key areas of work in this field are mobile phone data and small area estimation. Together, these approaches will help fill critical data gaps, enabling more timely, granular, and inclusive measurement of the information society.

Mobile Phone Data

ITU leads global efforts to advance the use of mobile phone big data (MPD) to strengthen statistical systems and support evidence-based policymaking.

Small Area Estimation

A new approach to shed light on the digital divide: small area estimation techniques to estimate Internet access and use with high geographic granularity.

Did you know?

2017

is when the UN-CEBD Task Team on MPD, led by ITU, was established.

30

countries are expected to embed MPD in their national data ecosystem by 2030 through the ITU/WB Global Data Facility MPD initiative.

19

ITU Member States have so far benefited from the ITU's technical assistance in use of MPD for official statistics.

1

square kilometer level estimates allow policymakers to pinpoint digital inclusion gaps with remarkable precision.

Contact

We invite countries interested in participating in the project to contact the ITU:

Esperanza Magpantay
Senior Statistician (ITU)
UN-CEBD Task Team Lead

Fredrik Eriksson
Senior Data Scientist (ITU)