Digital economy and technology

Data insights

The rapid advancement of digital technologies has transformed economies and reshaped the way businesses, governments and individuals interact globally. The digital economy, driven by innovation, connectivity and technological disruption, plays a pivotal role in shaping economic growth, productivity and societal change. This collection of thematic insights explores key aspects of the digital economy and technology, offering a comprehensive understanding of its evolving landscape.

International trade in electronic components on a gallop for the last 15 years

Imports of Information and communications technology goods by category, billions of dollars

UN Trade and Development, UNCTADstat.

See metadata.

International trade in electronic components has been galloping for the last 15 years with a slight drop in 2023. More modest growth could be observed for communication equipment, computers and peripheral equipment, whereas trade in consumer electronic equipment and other information and communications technology (ICT) products has been stagnating.

Data updated on 1 Dec 2025

Information and communication technology goods led by Asia

Exports of information and communications technology goods, by region, billions of dollars

UN Trade and Development, UNCTADstat.

See metadata.

Among the world regions, Asia is undoubtedly the forerunner in the supply of information and communications technology goods, accounting for nearly 80% of global exports in 2024.

Data updated on 1 Dec 2025

Metadata

The underlying data are reported by national authorities with product details coded according to the World Customs Organization's Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System (HS), revisions 1992, 1996, 2002, 2007, 2012, 2017 or 2022, depending on the individual reporting country and year. In cases in which several editions of the HS classifications are available for a given economy and year, preference is given to the latest one. The data are retrieved from UN Comtrade and cleaned, edited and aggregated to ICT groups by UNCTAD. Missing values are filled by imputations for the calculation of regional aggregates.

The product categorization specified in each successive edition of HS is assessed against the definition of ICT products (see the metadata under the links below) to identify which products should be categorized as ICT goods. This results in a specific list of ICT goods under each HS edition, available on the Classification Site of the UNCTAD Data Hub.
 
Full metadata are available in our Data Centre for:

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International trade
Economy and finance
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