The comparative development of ICT in BRICS a cluster analysis

The development of Information Communication Technology (ICT) has been one of the main drivers of technological change and, hence, of economic growth in recent years. Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, the so-called BRICS countries, are well known for their technological potential and they have therefore inspired many studies that examined their economies from various perspectives. However, only a few have specifically focused on ICT in BRICS. This study aims to contribute to the literature by determining the comparative development of ICT in each BRICS country relative to 200 countries during the period from 2005 to 2013. For that purpose, cluster analysis is used as a methodology. The clusters are defined by: fixedbroadband subscriptions, fixed-telephone subscriptions, mobile-cellular-telephone subscriptions, and percentage of individuals using the internet. There are five clusters: very-low, low, medium, high and very-high. Each corresponds to a comparative development level. The empirical findings indicate that, among 200 economies in 2005, Brazil, China and South Africa were clustered in the low development group, whereas India belonged in the very-low development cluster and Russia was included in the medium development cluster. Brazil, South Africa and Russia exhibited consistent comparative development during the examined period and, therefore, they are found to be in higher clusters in 2013. The findings also show that the comparative development of ICT in China has been volatile, whereas India’s cluster has varied from low to very-low development relative to the examined economies.