Trends of digital transformation in the global economy

Abstract

The purpose of the article is to identify the trends of digitalization in the world economy and to study the differences between the regions of the world. The main hypotheses are: the rapid growth of the introduction and use of digital technologies; the increase of digital divide between countries by level of development. The research used the methods of system analysis, comparison, and multivariate statistical analysis. The results of the study indicate the following trends, in particular, the world economy depends on the Internet. The number of Internet users in the world increased by 4.2 times to 66.3 % of the world's population in 2005–2022. In this process poor countries lag behind rich countries by 3.5 times. Mobile broadband Internet is spreading rapidly in the world – its coverage has doubled over the last 8 years. Smartphones are a key tool for accessing wireless Internet, the cost of which limits digitalization in less developed countries. 4G network coverage dominates in all regions of the world, primarily in cities than in rural areas, although the least developed countries lag significantly behind. Developed countries often hand over leadership in Internet speed to a number of developing countries as they have managed to build new high-speed data transmission infrastructure. Developed countries are leading in all types of business Internet activities and e-government services. Asia is the leader in social media users and online job search, Africa – in software downloads. The Asia-Pacific region is the largest user of international Internet bandwidth. Digital platforms are rapidly developing and will be acquired by companies in various sectors. Rising share prices of leading digital platforms may signal an even greater gap between the digital and "real" economies. The market capitalization of Chinaʼs digital giants is lower than that of the US. Compa­nies and countries where digital platforms are located are in a better position to lead in the field of artificial intelligence (AI), which is a key factor for future profits. The majority of AI researchers (59 %) work in the US, 11 % - in China. The US and China also dominate in the IoT segment. Data value chains are growing around the world. The meaning of the concept of national sovereignty in the global digital economy, measuring data flows, distinguishing raw data from digital products require further study.