The ICT Association of Jordan – int@j announced the ICT and IT Enabled Services (ITES) industry statistics for the year 2012 on October 21, 2013. The 2012 survey results show the ICT and ITES industry numbers for 2012: Total IT revenue of USD 617 Million USD (domestic IT revenue of 317 Million USD, and export IT revenue of 300 Million USD). Moreover total Telecom revenues according to TRC USD 1,691 Million USD, and total ITES revenue of USD 9.8 Million including USD 2 Million as domestic revenue and USD 7.8 Million as exports.

Compared to 2011, domestic IT Revenue declined by 37.5%, Export IT Revenue grow by 30%, and the overall IT Sector declined by 16% in 2012, which reflects an increasing focus on exports and limited domestic spending on IT.

Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in IT increased by USD 2.5 Million in 2012 and cumulative FDI reached USD 146 Million, whereas the overall employment in the ICT and ITES Sector employment increased to 15,956 employees: IT Employment was 10,284 employees, ITES employment stood at 1,076 employees, and telecom employment was 4,596 employees.

The top 10 ICT and ITES export countries are Saudi Arabia (24% of total exports), United States of America (20%), Iraq (12%), United Arab Emirates (10%), United Kingdom (6%), Palestine (4%), Netherlands (2.5%), Egypt (2.5%), Qatar (2%), and Kuwait (2%), and the rest of exports distributed on 48 regional and international countries. The numbers indicate an increasing demand for Jordanian companies in the US and UK markets.

“int@j conducts the ICT and ITES industry classification and statistics on annual basis in cooperation with the Ministry of ICT – MoICT based on UN and OECD definition of the ICT and ITES sector and classification based and using ISIC 4.0 to capture the true size and players in the sector in order to reflect the value the sector brings to the country. “ Chairman of int@j, Mr. Jawad J. Abbassi, said. “The decline in local IT revenues is disheartening and reflects little government investments in much needed national E-Government & E-education programs. Jordan’s public and private sectors must work closely and diligently to enhance Jordan’s E-government infrastructure and services”.

Abbassi further emphasized that “Jordan’s ICT sector remains a vibrant and competitive sector with no monopolies or Government-guaranteed profits for any of its companies. It is a pillar of the economy and a major contributor to the tax base. Emulating its competitive non-monopolistic framework in other sectors (e.g. the energy sector) will result in reducing inefficiencies and lowering burden on budget and public finances in Jordan ”.

The 2012 ICT and ITES Industry statistics survey targeted approximately 567 companies, of which 71 companies where filtered out as suspended businesses and/or non-ICT and ITES companies, resulting in 496 companies who actually participated in the survey, 1 company of which declared themselves as non-ICT and ITES, resulting in 495 companies who are part of the ICT and ITES sector, 249 companies responded fully electronically, and 246 responded to limited questions by phone indicating their activities and employment.

According to the ICT and ITES industry classification and statistics survey, the ICT and ITES sector figures indicate a total sector size of approximately USD 2.3 billion, and the IT sector reflects approximately 47% value added services in domestic revenue and approximately 73% value added services in exports, demonstrating that the IT industry brings high value to the Jordanian economy especially in exports.