Digital competence and digital gap in Arab world

Abstract EN

This paper discusses about the digital gap or digital divide.

it focus to understand the digital gap in the world in general and in the Arab world in particular.

More specifically, it aims to measure the digital divide in the Arab world using the developed ICT Index that published by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).

The method of this index is to measure digital gap in three dimensions: the ICT access, ICT use and ICT skills.

Talking about the digital gap leads us to talk about digital competence and digital literacy.

In this regard, this study showed the importance of digital competence for work, learn and even live in today's world.

Finally, the results show that: the digital gap one of the most important challenge in the Arab countries; digital competence is a requirement of the digital economy and its ence widens the digital divide; and the digital divide between developed and Arab countries is widening, and therefore strategies must be developed to address them.