Digital television forecasts for 43 countries are shown below, courtesy of Informa Media.
The most rapid growth will occur in China which will see a net gain of more than 77 million digital homes between now and 2010 and rise to second place in the rankings. The top five countries will account for nearly two-thirds of the worldwide total in 2010, down from nearly three-quarters this year.
Informa claims that at the end of 2003, the UK will have the highest digital penetration rate, at 44%, but it will fall to eleventh place in 2010. By the close of the decade, digital penetration will exceed 66% of TV households in ten countries.
An overview of the future digital landscape is available Digital TV Approaches 100 Million Homes.
Global Digital TV Rankings, By Country | |||||
2003 | 2010 | ||||
Position | Country | Digital Homes (000s) | Position | Country | Digital Homes (000s) |
1 | USA | 44,851 | 1 (-) | USA | 105,864 |
2 | UK | 10,824 | 2 (+14) | China | 78,113 |
3 | Japan | 5,572 | 3 (-) | Japan | 25,514 |
4 | Canada | 4,834 | 4 (+25) | India | 22,528 |
5 | France | 4,717 | 5 (+1) | Germany | 18,212 |
6 | Germany | 3,916 | 6 (-4) | UK | 16,649 |
7 | Italy | 2,768 | 7 (-2) | France | 11,480 |
8 | South Korea | 2,302 | 8 (-) | South Korea | 10,996 |
9 | Spain | 1,769 | 9 (-5) | Canada | 10,544 |
10 | Poland | 1,433 | 10 (+1) | Brazil | 7,858 |
11 | Brazil | 1,351 | 11 (-4) | Italy | 7,071 |
12 | Mexico | 1,179 | 12 (-3) | Spain | 6,348 |
13 | Sweden | 1,128 | 13 (+4) | Russia | 6,157 |
14 | Australia | 941 | 14 (-2) | Mexico | 5,414 |
15 | Malaysia | 916 | 15 (-5) | Poland | 5,255 |
16 | China | 900 | 16 (+14) | Netherlands | 4,196 |
17 | Russia | 890 | 17 (-3) | Australia | 4,126 |
18 | Argentina | 464 | 18 (+7) | Taiwan | 4,056 |
19 | Venezuela | 453 | 19 (+8) | Thailand | 3,445 |
20 | New Zealand | 452 | 20 (-7) | Sweden | 3,427 |
21 | Portugal | 426 | 21 (-3) | Argentina | 3,315 |
22 | Ireland | 395 | 22 (+1) | Belgium | 2,595 |
23 | Belgium | 390 | 23 (-2) | Portugal | 2,260 |
24 | Finland | 383 | 24 (+2) | Switzerland | 2,233 |
25 | Taiwan | 347 | 25 (-10) | Malaysia | 2,228 |
26 | Switzerland | 341 | 26 (-7) | Venezuela | 2,028 |
27 | Thailand | 317 | 27 (+12) | Philippines | 1,943 |
28 | Denmark | 310 | 28 (-) | Denmark | 1,664 |
29 | India | 306 | 29 (-5) | Finland | 1,617 |
30 | Netherlands | 262 | 30 (+7) | Colombia | 1,490 |
31 | Norway | 241 | 31 (+1) | Austria | 1,365 |
32 | Austria | 181 | 32 (+9) | Indonesia | 1,265 |
33 | Chile | 158 | 33 (-) | Chile | 1,242 |
34 | Puerto Rico | 156 | 34 (+1) | Hungary | 1,216 |
35 | Hungary | 134 | 35 (-4) | Norway | 1,180 |
36 | Greece | 132 | 36 (+7) | Hong Kong | 1,164 |
37 | Colombia | 99 | 37 (+3) | Czech Rep. | 1,131 |
38 | Singapore | 89 | 38 (+4) | Romania | 1,109 |
39 | Philippines | 85 | 39 (-17) | Ireland | 974 |
40 | Czech Rep. | 79 | 40 (-20) | New Zealand | 933 |
41 | Indonesia | 52 | 41 (-3) | Singapore | 737 |
42 | Romania | 33 | 42 (-6) | Greece | 627 |
43 | Hong Kong | 27 | 43 (-9) | Puerto Rico | 536 |
Source: Informa Media Group, May 2003 |