CHILE TRAILS IN TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENT

(Sept. 13, 2005) A recent United Nations report on technological development ranked Chile 37th among advanced nations. Chile falls behind countries with similar populations because of weak numbers in research and development, as well as access to internet and cell phones.

Chile’s population places it in competition with countries such as Ireland and the Czech Republic. However, these countries beat Chile in the report’s rankings coming in eighth and 31st, respectively.

Fifteen years ago, Chile had zero per 1,000 people connected to the internet. In 2003, Chile had increased its per capita connection to 232 per 1000 with similar numbers using mobile phone technology and standard telephone lines.

Experts point to the low numbers accessing new technological advances as a significant roadblock for the Chilean economy, and warn that Chile runs the risk of losing its competitive advantage globally if the country does not improve these numbers.

“Market penetration of technology is really good; the best of the best, but our biggest problem is the general low levels of usage. People don’t have easy access to technology,” said Aldo Signorelli, head of the National Association of Information Technology Companies (ACTI).

The UN report also looked at technological efficiency: general connectivity and the ability to export high tech products outside of the country. In this respect, Chile not only trails other countries, but has fallen 3 percent below its own levels in 1990. At that time, five percent of all Chilean exports came from the technology sector. Today, that number is only two percent of total exports trailing copper, grapes, and salmon.

Signorelli blames the lack of public and private sector incentives for Chile’s poor performance. Chile spends 0.5 percent of its gross national product on research and development, compared with a minimum expenditure of 1.2 percent in Ireland and the Czech Republic. As well, Chile has an average of 419 researchers per 1 million citizens while countries with similar populations have an average of 1,500 researchers per 1 million.