English - Human Development Reports - United Nations ...

Egypt’s Position in Technology and Information Led GlobalizationThere are hugedifferences in thelevel of servicesbetween urban andrural areas.300250200150100500digital divide in Egypt can be summarizedin the following four categories:Urban / Rural Divide.There are huge differences in the level ofservices between urban and rural areas.Telephone density varies heavily betweenrural and urban areas as shown in Figure(5.6). In Upper Egypt, urban areas have atelephone density of 191 compared to 18 inrural areas. This is also applicable in theFrontier governorates where urban areatelephone line density is 286 compared to48 in rural areas.Figure 5.6 : Egypt: Telephone Mainlines Density in 1999Per 1,000 person252173221911828648213Urban Gov Lower Gov. Upper Gov. Frontier Gov.Total EgyptUrbanRuralTable (5-3)Egypt: The per capita income By Region (1997)RegionUrban GovernoratesLower EgyptUrbanRuralUpper EgyptUrbanRuralFrontier GovernoratesUrbanRuralGrand TotalUrbanRuralRegion6.5503.8114.7714.4473.6735.2602.9275.2845.7154.6104.3065.6793.526High Income / Low Income DivideIn the new Global Information System,income level is a crucial element in determiningthe capability of absorbing and properlycomprehending the new technologies.21Table (5.3) presents data on income levelsin governorates in Egypt. Examination ofper capita income for the differentgovernorates reveals that accessibility tonew technologies is associated with relativelyhigh yearly income. Given that the averagecomputer today costs about L.E. 3,000, theaverage person in Cairo would have to saveup to 6-month’s salary to buy a PC withcash. As Table (5.3) shows, per capitaincome in most of Egypt’s governorates isquite low. In Urban Governorates (Cairo,Alexandria, Port Said, and Suez), theaverage monthly per capita income is aboutLE 545. Moreover, in Upper Egypt (Giza,Beni-Suef, Fayoum, El-Menya, Assyout,Sohag, Quena, and Aswan), monthly percapita income reaches L.E 438 in urbanareas, while in rural areas it is as low as L.E243 (less than half that of Cairo).Table (5.4) shows that in Egypt the cost ofInternet access from home is L.E. 95 permonth, which represents about 17.5 per centof the monthly income for a citizen in Cairoand Alexandria, and about 39 per cent for acitizen from Upper Egypt.Table (5-4)Average Cost of Home Internet Accessper YearDial-UpConnection Cost per YearTelephone Connection CostAverage Daily UseYearly UseTotal Cost of Telephone ConnectionTotal Internet Cost per YearL.E 600L.E 1/hour2 hours = L.E2250 daysL.E 500L.E 1150Given the high cost of owning a computerand accessing the Internet, and given theunequal distribution of income in Egypt,one could argue that the digital divide wouldbe deeper between different governorates,and between rural and urban areas withinthe same governorate. This would, in turn,be reflected negatively in future incomedistribution in Egypt (see Box 5.3)Egypt has a largely cash economy which84 -Egypt Human Development Report 2000/2001