Digital economy booms: UN

The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (Unctad) says the digital economy is thriving, with annual smartphone shipments more than doubling since 2010, reaching 1.2 billion in 2023. Unctad’s ‘Digital Economy Report 2024’ says the number of Internet of Things (IoT) devices is projected to surge 2.5 times from 2023 to 39 billion by 2029. New data from 43 countries, representing about three-quarters of global GDP, show that e-commerce grew nearly 60 per cent from 2016 to 2022 to reach $27 trillion. However, the report points out that this growth is taking an increasingly heavy toll on the environment. The digital economy is resource-intensive. A 2 kilogramme computer requires 800kg of raw materials and a smartphone, from production to disposal, requires about 70kg.