Digitalisation as a factor in the economic development of developing countries

Abstract

The relevance of this research arises from the need to assess the impact of digitalisation on the economic development of developing countries in the context of global challenges, such as economic inequality, limited access to modern technologies, uneven digital infrastructure, and low levels of digital literacy. The purpose of the article was to study the impact of digitalisation on the economic development of developing countries by identifying key digital indicators, analysing the clustering of countries by the level of digitalisation, and assessing the relationship between digital indicators and economic results. The research methods included cluster analysis to group countries by level of digital development, factor analysis to identify main drivers of digital transformation, and comparative analysis to identify key trends and features of digitalisation across countries. The analysis covered 90 countries with different levels of digital readiness and economic potential. The results of the study suggest that countries with a developed digital infrastructure, a high level of human capital and active government support demonstrate sustainable economic growth. It has been discovered that among main drivers of digital transformation are the following: access to high-speed Internet, digital education and the introduction of digital technologies in key sectors of the economy. Cluster analysis made it possible to identify four groups of countries that differ in the level of digitalisation, which helped to identify key priorities for each of them. The practical significance of the study is determined by the possibility of using the obtained results to develop recommendations for accelerating digital transformation in developing countries, taking into account their socioeconomic conditions and potential.