世界互联网网民的空间分布规律与影响因素

The Spatial Distribution and Influencing Factors of World Internet Users

通过世界银行、国际电信联盟和世界经济论坛发布的数据,基于网民规模和网民普及率两个指标,系统分析1998—2012年世界互联网网民的空间分布规律与影响因素。研究表明:1各国网民分布虽渐趋平衡,但"数字鸿沟"依然严峻。网民在互联网发展前期主要集中在发达国家,近年发展中国家和人口规模的贡献日益显著。2世界各国网民普及率增长普遍较快,且基本符合发达国家高、发展中国家居中、落后国家低的规律。3影响网民规模的因素涉及国家经济总量和人口数量两个层次。前期GDP和按购买力平价衡量的GNI是主要指标,但近年来作用略有下降;城镇人口、总人口和农村人口对网民规模的影响逐年增大,特别是前者已成为首要指标。4网民普及率主要受国民收入、城镇化率、教育水平、上网工具、上网资费和网络就绪程度等6个层次因素影响。

Internet geography is one of the hot topics worldwide in the research of human geography in recent years, and the Internet users who act as the ＂inhabitants＂ of the cyberspace is becoming the most core study object gradually. This paper systematicaUy analyzed the world Internet users＇ spatial distribution rules and influence factors during 1998 to 2012 based on two indicatorsi Internet users and Internet users penetration rate, through the released data from World Bank, the International Telecommunication Union and the World Economic Forum. The research indicates that： 1） Although the distribution of the world Internet users is becoming balanced gradually, the ＂digital divide＂ is still grim. The Internet users were mainly concentrated in developed countries at the initial period of the Internet development, but the function of population size and the developing countries is gradually significant in recent years. 2）The penetration rate of the Internet users all over the world is increasing generally faster and this conforms to the rule that developed countries＇ are basically high, the developing nations come between and the backwardness countries＇ are low. 3）The scale of Internet users is affected by two levels： the country＇s overall economic strength and population. GNI and GDP are the key index in earlier period but the role of the main indicators declined slightly in recent years, while the impact of the urban population, the total population and the rural population increased every year, especially the urban population has become the primary index. 4）The penetration rate of Internet users is mainly affected by the following six factors; the level of individual economies, the impact of the rate of urbanization, education level, Internet tools, Internet access charges and NRI.