Archive:Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) - a statistical portrait - technology

This Statistics Explained article is outdated and has been archived - for recent articles on non-EU countries see here.

Data from July 2014. Most recent data: Further Eurostat information, Main tables and Database.

This article is part of a set of statistical articles based on Eurostat’s publication Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) — A statistical portrait.

Figure 1: Mobile telecommunications penetration, 2009 and 2012
(subscriptions per 100 inhabitants) - Source: Eurostat (isoc_tc_mcsupe) and the International Telecommunication Union (ICT Data and Statistics Division)

Figure 2: Broadband subscriptions, 2012 and 2013 (1)
(per 100 inhabitants) - Source: Eurostat (isoc_tc_fbsupe) and (demo_gind) and the International Telecommunication Union (ICT Data and Statistics Division)

Figure 3: Individuals using the internet, 2003, 2008 and 2013 (1)
(% of individuals) - Source: Eurostat (isoc_ci_ifp_iu) and the International Telecommunication Union (ICT Data and Statistics Division)

Figure 4: Patent applications for selected filing offices, analysis by resident and non-resident, 2012 (1)
(number) - Source: Eurostat (isoc_ci_ifp_iu) and the World Intellectual Property Organisation (Statistics database)

Figure 5: Patents in force, analysed by filing office, 2012 (1)
(per 100 000 inhabitants) - Source: Eurostat (demo_gind) and the World Intellectual Property Organisation (Statistics database)

Figure 6: Patent applications to the European Patent Office, top 10 ASEM countries by origin, 2012 (1)
(number) - Source: Eurostat (pat_ep_ntot)

This article focuses on science and technology data about the European Union (EU), Norway and Switzerland in comparison with 20 Asian ASEM partners. It covers key indicators concerning telecommunications, the use of the internet and patents.

The use of the term European ASEM partners in this article refers to the 28 Member States of the EU, Norway and Switzerland. The use of the term Asian ASEM partners in this article refers to the 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the 10 remaining ASEM partners referred to as Northeast and South Asia (NESA).

Main statistical findings

Communications

The information society is based on information and communication services. The data presented in Figures 1 to 3 illustrate the prevalence of a range of services, namely mobile telecommunications, broadband services and the use of the internet.

For many years the number of mobile telephone subscriptions relative to population size increased in most countries worldwide, often rapidly. In some ASEM partners this ratio has stabilised as can be seen in Figure 1, as several partners recorded little change in their ratios between 2009 and 2012 and in some cases the ratio fell slightly: this was the case in Romania, Germany, Greece and the Netherlands as well as in the Russian Federation although in the latter case this may, at least in part, be influenced by methodological changes in the data. Nevertheless, several ASEM partners continued to experience large increases in mobile penetration, notably Latvia and Cambodia. By 2012, all ASEM partners reported more than 60 subscriptions per 100 inhabitants with the exception of Myanmar (7 per 100 inhabitants) which was far below this level.

While mobile telecommunication subscriptions were relatively common across nearly all ASEM partners access to broadband services was not so widespread, as can be seen from the two parts of Figure 2. The range of values within most of the four groupings of ASEM partners was rather large, particularly concerning mobile broadband subscriptions in 2012. Furthermore, there were large differences in the average values for the four groupings available for fixed broadband subscriptions in 2013, with the lowest average (mean) recorded for the ASEAN members and the highest for the pairing of Norway and Switzerland. Note that Singapore is a clear outlier among the ASEAN members in terms of its high use of both fixed and especially mobile broadband subscriptions.

Internet usage continued to increase in all ASEM partners in recent years and was approaching saturation in 2013 in some northern and western European ASEM partners (see Figure 3). Across the EU-28, an average of 77 % of individuals aged 16–74 used the internet in the 12 months prior to the survey date, a level that was exceeded in four Asian ASEM partners: New Zealand, Australia, the Republic of Korea and Japan.

Patents

Patents offer protection for inventors and play a role in the dissemination of knowledge. Data from the United Nation’s World Intellectual Property Organisation indicate that an estimated 2.3 million patent applications were made worldwide in 2012. Figure 4 shows that the largest numbers of patent applications in 2012 among ASEM partners were made in the patent offices of China, Japan and the Republic of Korea. In these three partners and in the Russian Federation the majority of applications were from residents, whereas among the remaining Asian ASEM partners most applications were from non-residents. In most European ASEM partners the majority of patent applications were from residents.

Figure 5 looks at the number of patents in force and compares this with the size of the population. The highest ratio of patents in force to the population in 2012 was recorded at the Luxembourg filing office, one of the EU-28’s smallest Member States. Among the European ASEM partners, high ratios of patents to inhabitants were also recorded at the filing offices in several partners known for their high-tech manufacturing as well as chemicals and pharmaceuticals manufacturing. Among the Asian ASEM partners, the highest ratios were recorded at the filing offices of the Republic of Korea and Japan, also known for their high-tech manufacturing.

Figure 6 looks in more detail at the origin of patent applications, in this case applications to the European Patent Office (EPO). The EPO offers inventors a uniform application procedure for patent protection in up to 40 European countries. Japan and Germany dominated the number of applications to the EPO in 2012, each with just under 22 700 applications.

Data sources and availability

The indicators presented are often compiled according to international — sometimes global — standards. Although most data are based on international concepts and definitions there may be certain discrepancies in the methods used to compile the data.

Almost all of the indicators presented for the EU (and its Member States), Norway and Switzerland have been drawn from Eurobase, Eurostat’s online database, while world patents data come from the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO)

For the Asian ASEM partners and their aggregates (ASEAN and NESA), the data presented have been extracted from the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and the WIPO.

For many of the indicators multiple international statistical sources are available, each with their own policies and practices concerning data management (for example, concerning data validation, the correction of errors, the estimation of missing data, and the frequency of updating). In general, attempts have been made to use only one source for each indicator in order to provide a comparable analysis between the partners.

Aggregates for ASEM, the European ASEM partners and the Asian ASEM partners have been compiled from the data for individual partners as indicated above. As such, they may combine data from Eurostat and international sources.

Context

Information and communication technologies (ICT) have changed people’s everyday lives, not least through the development of the internet and the more recent widespread use of mobile telecommunications.

A patent is a legal title of industrial property granting its owner the exclusive right to exploit an invention commercially for a limited area and time. Patentability requires novelty, inventiveness and industrial applicability of the invention.

Further Eurostat information

Publications

ASEM partners accounted for 44% of EU28 imports and 30% of exports in 2013 — News release October 2014
EU-South Korea trade relations boosted by the recent free trade agreement — Statistics in focus 1/2015
EU trade in goods with India in slight deficit in 2015 for a third consecutive year — News release March 2016
From birth to death: a closer look at business demography in selected EU countries and the Republic of Korea — Statistics in focus 1/2014
Goods trade with ASEAN countries rebounds from 2009 to 2010 — Statistics in focus 47/2011
The EU in the world 2013 — A statistical portrait — Statistical book (2013)
The European Union and the BRIC countries — Pocketbook (2012)
The European Union and the Republic of Korea — A statistical portrait — Statistical book (2012)

Database

Information society, see:

Telecommunication services (isoc_tc)

Fixed broadband - subscriptions and penetration (isoc_tc_fbsupe)

Mobile communications - subscriptions and penetration (isoc_tc_mcsupe)

Computers and the Internet in households and enterprises (isoc_ci)

Internet - level of access, use and activities (isoc_ci_in)

Individuals - Internet use (isoc_ci_ifp_iu)

Science technology and innovation, see:

Patent statistics (pat)

Patent applications to the EPO by priority year (pat_epo)

Patent applications to the EPO by priority year at the national level (pat_epo_nat)

Patent applications to the EPO by priority year at the national level (pat_ep_ntot)

Dedicated section

Source data for figures (MS Excel)

Download Excel file

External links