Armste landen verder achterop

There are only 94.3 scientific researchers per million people in the least developed countries (LDCs), against 313 in the other developing countries (ODCs) and 3,728 in rich countries (high-income OECD). Enrolment in University-level is only 3.5% in the LDCs, against 23% in ODCs and 69% in rich countries.

LDC Governments are devoting only 0.3% of their GDP to research and development, against 0.8% in other developing countries and 2.4% in rich countries.

For each machinery or equipment imported by least developed countries (LDCs) by inhabitant, other developing countries (ODCs) import 12 times as many: LDCs imported $18 of capital goods per inhabitant 2000-05, against some $207 for ODCs. While just 20% of capital goods imports of LDCs consisted of information and communication technonoly (ICT) capital goods, in ODCs this share was much higher: ICTs made up half of ODC total capital goods imports.

Foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows to the LDCs in 2000-05 were three times higher than in the preceding 10 years, but still they accounted for only 1% of world inflows in 2000-05 and 0.7% of world stock in 2005. FDI inflows to the LDCs are highly concentrated geographically: just four petroleum-producing LDCs – Angola, Chad, Equatorial Guinea and Sudan – received more than half (56%) of the total FDI inflows going to all 50 LDCs in 2000-05.

Total FDI inflows into African LDCs rose fourfold from an annual average of $1.7 billion in the 1990s to $6.8 billion in 2000-05. Such an increase in FDI was due to African LDC governments´ providing more favourable treatment to foreign investors, and to the worldwide race for new sources of natural resources.

LDC imports of technology through plans, projects, industrial designs and blueprints – rather than through physical capital goods – (i.e. licensing) amounted to $0.07 per inhabitant in 2000-2005, while in ODCs it was 90 times higher ($6.36 per inhabitant). Such imports by LDCs have stagnated since the late 1990s.