Behind the Firefox 3 numbers for Iraq
Yesterday was the official release of Firefox 3 and there was a large marketing push to get as many people world wide to download it.
For those interested in the 24-hour breakdown per country, the Mozilla team put together an interactive global map that allows you to see how many times FF was downloaded in each country.
With over 7 million downloads in 10 different languages, this map can serve as a rough guide for tech generalizations.
Unsurprisingly regions gripped with central planning and socialism rank at the very bottom. For instance, North Korea has had a grand total of zero downloads (due primarily to the fact that only one internet cafe exists in the entire country, personal computers are verboten and all communication is heavily regulated and censored).
On the other end of the spectrum most of the industrialized world and West are nearly ranked according to their respective GDPs, with America, Germany and Japan taking the top 3 spots.
And while there all sorts of odd numbers to be gleaned (like itty bitty Singapore flying equal with its significantly larger neighbors), the numbers within the Middle East are striking. As of this writing:
Iran: 208,215
Saudi Arabia: 7,412
Kuwait: 1,962
Qatar: 1,265
Iraq: 235
Of course, it could be argued that the numbers are skewed because the same user may be downloading multiple copies, but there doesn't seem to be much evidence of a nationalistic push to compete in the FF3 Download Olympics (USA! USA!).
Much more could be written about ratios comparing total population with FF3 downloads or total amount of households with internet access with FF3 downloads. However, considering that even Iraq's smallest peer speaks the same language, I think it is safe to say that the Arabic language is not a limiting factor, nor are time zones.
Rather, it is yet another footnote in the costs of occupation. Who is to blame for destroying the infrastructure and failing to rebuild it to even pre-war levels. (Here are some contemporary numbers from IWS)
Unfortunately, even with all of the neato features in this latest FF version, Iraqis don't have the wonderful opportunity to worry about automated malware protection when basic services like electricity and running water are still unavailable (you know they actually have had to ration oil-products there too, right?). Maybe the numbers will jump after another few surges.
Legitimate milestone, maybe not. But it is difficult to see how another 5 years of occupation and enhanced interrogation will make the 4.0 release for Iraq any more popular. Maybe additional waterboarding will motivate them.
Comments (21)
Man, are you reaching.
Published: June 18, 2008 12:25 PM
Interesting stats, but I wouldn't blame all of the infrastructure damage in Iraq on the two wars. From the beginning of the Iran-Iraq war in the mid 80's, Hussein neglected the country's infrastructure and poured every dime into the fighting. It would be hard to separate the damage caused by the Iran war, which lasted 8 years, I believe, from that caused by two US wars which lasted several months.
Published: June 18, 2008 12:36 PM
Keith, aside from hosting zero US troops what do Sudan, Mongolia and the Palestinian territories have in common? Residents of each have downloaded FF3 more than Iraq. How else would you rationalize the large disparity?
In the one hour since I posted this:
Iran: 258,224
Saudi Arabia: 8,016
Kuwait: 2,139
Qatar: 1,432
Iraq: 282
Perhaps most Iraqi users connect via proxies. Maybe the equipment used by coalition troops terminates in the US. Or maybe the place is in shambles.
fundamentalist,
That is kind of hard to swallow considering Iran was also hit hard during the warring '80s and has been under a US-led embargo for nearly three decades.
Published: June 18, 2008 1:13 PM
"That is kind of hard to swallow considering Iran was also hit hard during the warring '80s and has been under a US-led embargo for nearly three decades."
That's a good point.
Published: June 18, 2008 1:31 PM
Are you using this as an index of oppression of thought?
If it is a valid test then Iran has more freedom than Saudi Arabia. Then why is Iran considered less of a friend to the U.S.? Maybe their relative freedom from hegemony is a threat.
Published: June 18, 2008 3:41 PM
Random thoughts:
I'd like someone to verify how internet access gets to Iraq - may be dominantly through US military, with a bit from Iraqi government...
This could be a measure of government effectiveness of internet control. Other Arab nations may be more successful in controlling the internet than Iran.
I wonder how Mozilla's advertising reach affected these results. Perhaps there simply isn't much going to Iraq compared to other countries.
History will have to bear the final outcome of US participation in Iraq. I'm noticing that US influenced areas do better over time than more tyrannical areas (North v. South Korea, West v East Germany, Israel v. any bordering country), Our occupation had lasting effect for the personal liberties in those nations.
Published: June 18, 2008 5:06 PM
I live in Iran as and as far as I know we are a huge young population with many people who do not give a damn about a small governing group of hard liners. You thoughts and images of Iranian people usually comes from US-based media and these channels of broadcasting go through special censorship. Unless you visit Iran you cannot change your ideas about people here.
I am also sorry that some websites put a picture of "Ahmadinejad" next to the Iran's name (They never put a picture of e.g "Lotfali Askar Zadeh" next to Iran's name) . This is a shame, cause we won't put a picture of "Bush" next to US name. These presidents are not a nation's representatives. They are there to follow their own communities interests by doing any damage they want to a nations public image(Bush for oil? You don't believe that?).
Here in Iran, Ahmadinejad is the considered the greatest failure of our history. He is so lame, and no body can stand him anymore (Whenever I go, in metro, bus, taxis, everybody is swearing at him!) .
What we need here is an ordinary people based communication, to let these nations know each other much better without the filters of highly filtered media.
Published: June 18, 2008 11:57 PM
Tim, this is fascinating; thanks for bring it to our attention. I would note that the map is also zoomable.
hamed, many thanks for visiting and for your comments. It is unfortunate that we need something like this Mozilla download statistic to open our eyes to how modern, widespread and unrestrained the Iranian internet infrastructure is.
Published: June 19, 2008 3:26 AM
Hi all
I'm agree with hamed. Don't put the picture of damned ahmadinejad next to iran's name. nearly all of us in iran hate idiot ahmadinejad.
and about download record, It was surprising for me too but not because the reason you surprised for.
You surprised because medias in west show iranians some mad camel riders and you now wonder how camel riders can be in the top 10 download list. but you should know that we are not camel riders. in each house in iran you can find at least 1 computer(except far flung villages)
But I surprised because i was thinking that iranians don't like firefox but now I KNOW THAT FIREFOX IS VERY POPULAR IN IRAN.
Published: June 19, 2008 3:44 AM
Thanks for the link. I'm stunned with my fellow Lithuanians are busy downloading FF.
Though, knowing how Estonia is far ahead of us in IT matters, I would really refrain from drawing some far reaching conclusions based on this data about IT, freedom, piracy and the like.
Published: June 19, 2008 4:41 AM
Quote from Tim Swanson: "That is kind of hard to swallow considering Iran was also hit hard during the warring '80s and has been under a US-led embargo for nearly three decades."
So, if the use of FireFox in Iraq goes up in the future will you claim it's because of the war, too?
Maybe you're using the wrong product? Maybe you should consider how many X-Boxes are sold? The X-Box does not sell well in Japan. Maybe that's because of the atomic bomb.
Published: June 19, 2008 6:38 AM
Bruce: "If it is a valid test then Iran has more freedom than Saudi Arabia. Then why is Iran considered less of a friend to the U.S.?"
Political relationships are based on the people in government, not the people on the street. Ahmadinejad, and the Iranian government, consider the US an enemy even though some surveys show that the Iranian people are the most pro-American in the Middle East.
The US government considers Iran an enemy because of its support for Hizb-Allah in Lebanon, Hamas in Palestine, and other terrorist organizations. Iran also provides weapons and training to group in Iraq that attack US personnel. But the main problem now is Iran's attempt to build a nuclear weapon.
On the other hand, the Egyptian government considers the US a friend, and we consider them a friend, while the Egyptian people are the most anti-American in the Middle East. Egyptians are far more anti-American than even Iraqis.
Published: June 19, 2008 6:51 AM
Thanks for the great post!
These videos on Iran are worth a watch ;) The last one is on Iraq.
http://www.lucasgray.com/video/peacetrain.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vTGf4X_Qjew
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=9161934809152225169&q=rageh+iran&ei=mFdaSKPkJY-WigLSzuzFBQ
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article12665.htm
Published: June 19, 2008 8:20 AM
Keith said,
Thanks for raising this contention. The problem with this example is manifold.First, as I noted above a big problem plaguing Iraq is that it has very little communication infrastructure with the outside world. And the main reason for this is that in addition to two bombing campaigns and a decade long embargo its residents have lived under a violent five year occupation. None of this creates a conducive environment to build or maintain the infrastructure necessary for large data transportation.
I submitted that its neighbors, which have largely gone unscathed by direct US military intervention have been able to build and maintain even rudimentary networks and subsequently their users are able to keep up-to-date with the latest software developments.
With this said, regarding the Xbox scenario, the analogy does not fit.
While it is true that Xbox sales are noticeably smaller, it isn't due to a lack of Xbox inventory residing in the country or because of infrastructure issues. Rather, one of the black eyes Microsoft gave itself was the original Xbox controller: it was huge compared to relatively small hands of the Japanese (that's one of the reasons the form factor shrank).
Based on all objective measures it does not appear that FF3 has any such insurmountable qualitative defects that repels Iraqis (i.e., again, its neighbors have all downloaded it substantially more, beyond a mere statistical whisker).
And the number that further explains this issue: 55,000. That is the number of current internet users in Iraq. That is a mere 0.2% penetration relative to the total population. In terms of low penetration, it is the lowest in the entire Middle East region. The closest any other country comes is Yemen, at 1.4% (320,000 users).
What explains this disparity? I would argue that dropping bombs and creating an atmosphere of fear and death is not helping the domestic ISP market grow and flourish.
And despite 50+ years of occupation, residents of Germany, Japan or Korea are not subjected to the stresses and bombings that Iraqis currently do.
Also, while Japanese Xbox sales have certainly disappointed Micrsoft execs, just how many PoP Xbox sales have occurred in Iraq? Or do you believe there is no direct correlation between peace & prosperity and gadgetry usage?
Does this kind of conversation taking place often: "Mom, I know we don't have access to clean water or a reliable energy grid, but if you could buy me an Xbox or satellite internet access, I promise not to join the insurgency."
Published: June 19, 2008 8:29 AM
To be frank, here is the most frightening statistic: 78% of the American population are using Internet Explorer!!!!! Can anybody explain that??!!??
I do not think Iranians are camel riders at all. I think there are a lot more American computer users who are living in the stone-age.Published: June 19, 2008 11:54 AM
Here in Iran, Ahmadinejad is the considered the greatest failure of our history. He is so lame, and no body can stand him anymore (Whenever I go, in metro, bus, taxis, everybody is swearing at him!) .
Hamed:
You present an interesting fact here! I’ve been based here in the UAE (my 2nd year running). During my tenure, I’ve bumped into many Iranians that echo what you cite here. Majority of that echo came from young girls who found themselves – how do I say this; bogged down due to religious restrictions. They claim, they just couldn’t be what they wanted themselves to be but rather had to be what the state’s religious authorities wanted them to be until they broke free and moved to the UAE on a work assignment. I’ve come across educated and intellectually superior (compared to their Arab neighbors) moderately religious Iranians that are just waiting for another revolution to take back what’s rightfully theirs.
Any way, I’ve got a business trip coming up just about Autumn, so I guess I’d get a first-hand opportunity to see what you mean by your unless you visit Iran you cannot change your ideas about people here statement.
Stay healthy :)
Published: June 19, 2008 2:12 PM
Fundamentalist,
I agree with your comments. Did you not mention the effect of the move away from accepting the dollar as the world currency because you do not think it is a factor or because the focus of your comment was in a different direction.
Do you think that it is coincidental that the invasion of Iraq came after the Iraq oil was being exchanged for Euros or that the U.S. demonizes Iran while at the same time Iran spurns U.S. dollars?
Published: June 19, 2008 3:38 PM
This reminds me of the comparative study of the number of semi-colons in the New York Times and the number of deaths listed in mid-west obituaries :-) Saudi Arabia has about 6-million foreign guest workers in the country, which would probably account for a fair number of the FF downloads.
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