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Topic · Information Systems

ICT in Developing Communities

ICT in Developing Communities is a research topic within Information Systems. Science Explorer counts 16k research works in it since 1951. 24.4% of them reached the world's top 10% most cited for their field and year.

This cluster of papers focuses on the use of Information and Communication Technologies for Development (ICTD) in rural communities, with a specific emphasis on mobile technology, digital empowerment of low-literacy users, and the role of ICT in improving access to education, healthcare, and economic opportunities. The research explores user interface design, ICT skills training, and the impact of mobile technology on global development efforts.

  • Rural Communities
  • Mobile Technology
  • Low-Literacy Users
  • Digital Empowerment
  • Community Health Workers
  • User Interface Design
  • ICT Skills Training
  • Global Development
  • Digital Literacy
  • Educational Access
Research works
16k
fractional, since 1951
In the world top 10%
3.8k
per year above
Top-10% rate
24.4%
share of its works in the world top 10%
Growth, 2013–17 → 2018–22
0%
the tick is no change

Which countries lead ICT in Developing Communities research?

By volume, India and the United States publish the most (536 and 512 works in 2022–2025).

By volume, 2022–2025

  1. 1 India 536 works
  2. 2 United States 512 works
  3. 3 United Kingdom 156 works
  4. 4 South Africa 150 works
  5. 5 Nigeria 128 works
  6. 6 Indonesia 89 works
  7. 7 Australia 85 works
  8. 8 Kenya 80 works
  9. 9 China 71 works
  10. 10 Bangladesh 70 works

How concentrated that is

The same countries as shares of everything the list above accounts for. A node where two countries do two thirds of the work and one spread evenly across twelve read alike as a ranking and not at all alike here.

India: 28.5%United States: 27.3%United Kingdom: 8.3%South Africa: 8.0%6 others listed: 27.9%29%largest
India536 · 28.5%United States512 · 27.3%United Kingdom156 · 8.3%South Africa150 · 8.0%6 others listed523 · 27.9%

Shares of the rows listed above, not of the whole node.

Which institutions lead ICT in Developing Communities research?

By volume in 2022–2025, University of South Africa publishes the most ICT in Developing Communities research, followed by University of Washington and Makerere University.

By volume, 2022–2025

  1. 1 University of South AfricaSouth Africa 24 works
  2. 2 University of WashingtonUnited States 17 works
  3. 3 Makerere UniversityUganda 15 works
  4. 4 University of JohannesburgSouth Africa 14 works
  5. 5 University of NairobiKenya 13 works
  6. 6 University of Cape TownSouth Africa 13 works
  7. 7 Amrita Vishwa VidyapeethamIndia 12 works
  8. 8 University of Dar es SalaamTanzania 11 works
  9. 9 Cornell UniversityUnited States 10 works
  10. 10 University College LondonUnited Kingdom 10 works

Where is ICT in Developing Communities research done?

The largest centres of ICT in Developing Communities research in 2022–2025 are Dhaka (Bangladesh), Nairobi (Kenya), New Delhi (India) and Pretoria (South Africa). Among places with at least 20 works in it, it is an unusually large share of all research in Nairobi and Kampala.

Largest cities, 2022–2025

  1. 1 Dhaka Bangladesh 48 works
  2. 2 Nairobi Kenya 46 works
  3. 3 New Delhi India 45 works
  4. 4 Pretoria South Africa 41 works
  5. 5 London United Kingdom 38 works
  6. 6 Pune India 38 works
  7. 7 Bengaluru India 33 works
  8. 8 Johannesburg South Africa 27 works
  9. 9 New York United States 23 works
  10. 10 Kampala Uganda 22 works

Where it is the local speciality

  1. NairobiKE · 45.9 works19×
  2. KampalaUG · 21.9 works17×
← less than its size predicts1×more →

Location quotient: how much more of its research is in ICT in Developing Communities than the world average.

See ICT in Developing Communities on the map

Where is the best place to study ICT in Developing Communities?

Among universities, judged by research, University of South Africa, Makerere University and University of Cape Town score highest, combining excellence, specialisation, size, growth and international reach. Research strength is one signal when choosing where to study; it does not measure teaching.

0%20%40%mean 27.14%fractional works in this node (log) →share in the world top 10% →University of South Africa: 24, 29.1%Makerere University: 15, 25.8%University of Cape Town: 13, 25.2%University of Washington: 16, 39.7%University of Dar es Salaam: 11, 7.6%University of Nairobi: 13, 18.2%Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham: 12, 20.6%University of the Witwatersrand: 10, 26.1%Cornell University: 10, 44.5%University College London: 10, 34.6%University of Washin…University of South …Makerere UniversityUniversity of Cape T…
above the meannear itbelow it

One dot per university in the table below. The upper left is the interesting corner: small places doing unusually strong work.

#UniversityScoreTop 10%SpecialisationWorksGrowth
1 University of South AfricaSouth Africa 66.729.1%19.1×24 +44.3%
2 Makerere UniversityUganda 60.725.8%28.2×15 +24.9%
3 University of Cape TownSouth Africa 56.725.2%13.9×13 +13.3%
4 University of WashingtonUnited States 50.339.7%5.7×16 -4.9%
5 University of Dar es SalaamTanzania 48.87.6%30.6×11 +184.4%
6 University of NairobiKenya 48.418.2%29.9×13 +20.9%
7 Amrita Vishwa VidyapeethamIndia 47.720.6%7.6×12 +184.1%
8 University of the WitwatersrandSouth Africa 47.126.1%7.9×10 +71.7%
9 Cornell UniversityUnited States 43.844.5%3.5×10 +74.5%
10 University College LondonUnited Kingdom 41.634.6%2.4×10 +115.5%

Universities only. Score blends excellence (30%), specialisation (25%), size (20%), growth (15%) and international reach (10%), 2015–2022; growth compares 2010–14 with 2015–19.

Is ICT in Developing Communities research growing?

Output in 2018–2022 was 0% lower than in 2013–2017, peaking in 2025. The fastest-growing topics are ICT in Developing Communities.

19801990200020102020
grewheldshrank

The same series as a ribbon — one cell per year, darker for more. The line above answers how much; this answers when.

Which topics inside it are moving

Growth and decline on one axis around a shared zero. Two lists side by side hide the thing that matters: whether the growth dwarfs the decline, or the other way round.