In June 1997, CommerceNet reported there are 50,000 users accessing the Internet in Costa Rica. The figure represents 5.78% of the population and was reported in June 1997. This is a dramatic increase from four years ago from 128 when the service was first introduced in the country. In a recent study conducted by Deloitte and Touche, demand continues to grow with an estimated 500 to 1,000 new users being added each month.
SOUTH AMERICA
|
Country |
Internet Population |
% Total Population |
Date |
Source |
|
Argentina |
170,000 |
.49 |
June 1997 |
PROMERK |
|
Bolivia |
8,000 |
.11 |
October 1997 |
ITU/SEIMENS |
|
Brazil |
1,000,000 |
.61 |
November 1997 |
IBOPE |
|
Chile |
200,000 |
1.3 |
June 1997 |
PROMERK |
|
Columbia |
120,000 |
.32 |
June 1997 |
PROMERK |
|
Costa Rica |
50,000 |
5.78 |
June 1997 |
PROMERK |
Source: CommerceNet1999
A study conducted in January 1999 by Mark Lottor of Network Wizards at Menlo Park reveal the following statistics.
|
Domain |
July 1996 |
January 1999 |
Increase % |
|
Costa Rica - dom |
2,582 |
3,261 |
26 |
|
USA - dom |
432,727 |
1,562,391 |
261 |
|
Brazil - dom |
46,854 |
215,086 |
359 |
|
Belize - dom |
8 |
252 |
3050 |
|
Nicaragua - dom |
285 |
715 |
151 |
|
Panama - dom |
207 |
742 |
258 |
|
Uganda - dom |
60 |
113 |
88 |
* -dom indicates country top level domain, exclusive from any .com, .net, .org, or .int global top level domains that may also be located in the country. (Source: http://www.nw.com/zone/WWW/top.html)
Additional statistics have been gathered by the International Telecommunications Union (1998) that reflect not just the number of domain names in certain countries, but also estimates the actual number of users. (The 3'491 posted in the table below is an accumulative number for the entire 1996 year, whereas the 1,495 and 2,582 listed in the above table are simply snapshots conducted at two points during the year.)
|
Country |
Hosts Total 1996 |
Hosts per 10'000 inhabitants 1996 |
Users Total 1996 |
Users per 10'000 inhab 1996 |
|
Costa Rica |
3'491 |
10.27 |
30'000 |
88.29 |
|
United States |
10'112'888 |
379.39 |
21'000'000 |
787.82 |
|
Brazil |
77'148 |
4.89 |
500'000 |
31.67 |
|
Belize |
12 |
.54 |
1'582 |
71.26 |
|
Nicaragua |
531 |
1.25 |
4'000 |
9.44 |
|
Panama |
751 |
2.81 |
6'000 |
22.44 |
|
Uganda |
17 |
.01 |
1'000 |
.49 |
|
World |
16'252'758 |
28.14 |
50'089'342 |
91.89 |
* Source ITU
As the table depicts, Internet usage in Costa Rica is far below that of the United States as presumed. However, in comparison to neighboring countries such as Panama and Nicaragua, the country far exceeds usage for the region. Furthermore, it is not far below the world average of 91.89 "Users per 10'000 inhabitants" for 1996. These numbers suggest that Costa Rica has the facilities and acceptance of Internet usage and has experienced all the world, will most likely continue to grow at a rapid pace.
Exercise 1: Jeffrey Clark, Liza Dunham, and Dick Wright
