Country variables

  back...

Age Dependency Ratio

This is the ratio of people of working age to the total population in a country. In other words, it shows how many mouths each wage-earner has to feed.

If you are concerned with the development of fair wages policies, this should be taken into account when comparing different countries. A wage that is adequate to support decent living standards in a country with a low dependency may be a poverty wage in another, where the average family breadwinner has to support a lot of elderly dependents or young children.

Corruption Perception Index

The corruption perception index is compiled by a private company. It must be emphasised that it measures perceptions of corruption rather than actual levels of corruption in a country. A high perception of corruption may act as a barrier to inward investors. Please note that according to the way this index is compiled, a high score means a low perception of corruption. In other words, the index is measuring levels of trustworthiness as they are perceived by outsiders. If your country has a high score, then this is something to be proud of and to feature in any promotional materials designed to attract new investment. If it is low, then this is something that will have to be addressed locally as part of a regional development strategy.

Country ranking using Corruption Perception Index

This tells you where each country scores in the international ranking of trustworthiness (see ‘corruption perception index’).

Female graduates in all subjects

The number of female graduates in a country tells you a number of things about the local labour market and local society more generally. If it is high in relation to the total population, then this is a reasonable indicator that this is a society in which education is taken seriously. If it compares well with the figure for ‘graduates in all subjects’ then this also suggests a society in which equality of opportunity between the sexes is also taken seriously. A good supply of female graduates is often seen as a very positive incentive for employers to move to a particular location, especially if they can offer safe and flexible working conditions that support a good work-life balance.

Female maths and computer science graduates

This variable provides more specific information than ‘female graduates in all subjects’. Maths and computer science graduates make excellent recruits for software development and other IT industries. A high proportion of maths and science graduates amongst all graduates also shows that this is a society in which technological literacy is encouraged, suggesting a good environment for eWork.

GDP growth

This is a standard variable that gives a general indicator of the growth in gross domestic product. In other words, it is a general indicator of growth in the economy. High rates of GDP growth indicate rapid development and a dynamic local economy.

Graduates in all subjects

The number of graduates in all subjects is a good general indicator of education levels in a society. Many eWork businesses require graduate-level qualifications for all recruits and a large supply of graduates entering the labour market is an extremely positive selling point for any region. (see also ‘female graduates in all subjects’ and ‘maths and computer science graduates’).

Gross Domestic Product (purchasing power parity)

See also ‘GDP growth’. This variable shows the absolute level of GDP rather than its rate of growth. It gives an indication of the size of an economy. In this case, the figure has been adjusted to take into account differing price levels in different countries, and differing currency exchange rates. This makes it possible to compare different countries’ economies with reasonable accuracy.

Growth in population 1990 to 1998

As its name suggests, this indicator shows how quickly the population has been growing in recent years. A rapidly-growing population suggests that large numbers of younger people will be coming onto the labour market in the near future.

Internet hosts

The number of internet hosts in a country gives an indication of the extent to which it is actively part of an ‘information society’. Whilst it does not directly tell you how many people are online, a high number in relation to the total population suggests that there is an awareness of the Internet, and that many people are likely to be familiar with information and communications technologies and have some knowledge in using them.

Labour Force

This indicator tells you how many people there are in a country who are available for work. Whilst the term ‘workforce’ refers only to those people actually in work, the ‘labour force’ also includes unemployed people. Not all countries have a labour force survey. Where these do not exist, the nearest equivalent indicator is ‘population of working age’ (see below).

Main line telephones

The number of main line telephones in a country is often taken as an indicator of general prosperity and economic development. When this figure is combined with the number of people in the whole population, the resulting ratio is called ‘teledensity’, normally the number of fixed phone lines for every 1,000 people in the total population. A telephone line is, of course, a prerequisite for full participation in the information society, and a high teledensity is a positive indicator for potential investors. Being able to provide concrete evidence of low teledensity could help develop an argument that a country deserves special investment to help it develop its infrastructure.

Maths and computer science graduates

Maths and computer science graduates form the main source of talent for the software and other IT industries. Being able to demonstrate a ready supply of such graduates is an extremely important positive selling point for regions wishing to develop a place for themselves in the global eEconomy based on high skills and sustainable employment. See also ‘graduates in all subjects’ and ‘female maths and computer science graduates’.

Minutes of incoming international phone calls

The amount of telephone traffic entering or leaving a country (see also ‘minutes of outgoing international phone calls’) gives an indication of the extent to which the economy is already integrated into global trading and employment networks. In some cases, high levels of such traffic in relation to other economic indicators (such as GDP) may indicate the presence of call centres.

Minutes of outgoing international phone calls

See ‘minutes of incoming phone calls’.

Percentage growth in main lines, 1996 to 1998

See also ‘main line telephones’. The growth in main lines gives a good indication of the speed at which the telecommunications infrastructure is being developed and the population coming within reach of being online. Some of the fastest growing economies in the world had relatively low teledensity in the early 1990s, but subsequently managed to leapfrog over their competitors by means of very fast growth in telecommunications, sometimes as a result of conscious investment strategies. An above-average growth rate in main lines is a positive indicator for a local economy, and could be featured in literature promoting the region.

Personal computers

The number of personal computers is an indication of how many people in the population have IT skills.

Population density

The population density of a country shows how many people live on each hectare of land. For some kinds of large-scale labour-intensive work, such as call centres, employers seek out areas of high density, with a large number of potential workers to choose from.

Population

The general size of the population of a country can be useful in absolute terms. If you know very little about two countries you are comparing, this indicator can serve to give a sense of their relative scale. However, it is usually most useful when combined with some other variable to give a per capita (ie per head of the population) figure. For instance, the GDP per capita or the number of telephone lines or computer terminals for each person (or 100 or 1,000 people) may give you a good basis to compare the relative levels of development of two countries, or their progress towards an information society.

Population of largest city

See also ‘population’. Two countries with roughly the same population may be very different, depending on how that population is distributed geographically. The population of the largest city gives an indication of how urbanised an economy is. It is not, of course, a perfect indicator (a country could have a population concentrated in a number of medium-sized cities; or have one very large city at the heart of a predominantly rural economy) but generally speaking, the existence of a large city suggests the presence of a number of other things, including transport infrastructure, banking and other service industries, universities, hotel and conference facilities for foreign businesses, and a supply of skilled labour.

Population of working age

See also ‘labour force’. In many countries without a Labour Force Survey or equivalent, it is impossible to make a reliable estimate of the labour force (ie all the people who are either working or available to work. In such cases, the nearest equivalent indicator is the population of working age. When using this indicator, you should be aware that it may include a number of people who are not actually available for work, such as the sick and disabled, full-time housewives or unpaid family workers (for instance in agriculture). Nevertheless, it can give a useful indication of the relative size of the labour force when comparing different countries.

Tertiary school enrolment

This indicator tells us how many pupils there are in full-time education at the post-secondary level. Some of these pupils will in future years be entering the labour market with educational qualifications at the school-leaver level; others may enter university to develop higher qualifications. See also ‘graduates, all subjects’