UNCTAD’s Ecommerce Survey 2019 and The Need for Better Statistics

This month UNCTAD issued its annual ecommerce report, which shows that Europe remains by far the most prepared region for B2C ecommerce, with 8 countries ranking in the top 10 of a global index. The index scores 152 nations on their readiness for online shopping, worth an estimated US$3.9 trillion globally in 2017, up 22% from the previous year. UNCTAD’s index also highlights the need to improve the reliability and availability of statistics, especially in developing countries. The Index is measured by a combination of – access to secure internet servers; reliability of postal services and infrastructure; the percent of the population using the internet who have either an account with a mobile money service or a bank account. The top 10 Sub Saharan African counties were Mauritius, South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya, Namibia; Tanzania; Senegal; Botswana and Uganda. To know more about the B2C Index key findings.

The Index was issued on 3 Dec at the first UNCTAD Working Group on Measuring Ecommerce and the Digital Economy. This new WG was promised at the 2018 Ecommerce Week and is intended to provide a common structure for countries to collect and report statistics on the digital economy, over 40 countries are represented.