The data economy, defined as the activities derived from the generation and use of data and its externalities, has been increasing every year, as a result of the increase in the amount of data available in the world.

The consulting firm IDC estimates that by 2025 more than 180 zettabytes (10^21 bytes) will be produced, and estimated that by that year the value of the data economy in the European Union would reach €550 billion. More and more countries see data as an asset, and its inclusion in national accounts has led some statistical agencies to also try to quantify its value. For example, Statistics Canada (2019) estimated that the value of data investment in the country in 2018 was between CAN$9 and CAN$14 billion, while researchers at Statistics Netherlands estimated that for 2017 the investment was between €15, 5 and 20 billion euros. Based on a similar methodology, researchers from the Office of Economic Analysis in the United States estimated that the investment in data in this country in 2021 was US$186 billion.

While there is literature that explores various methods used to value data, such as those mentioned in the post: “What is the value of data? A review of empirical methods” - Bennett Institute for Public Policy (cam.ac.uk), there are other methodological options that have not yet been exhausted, and no estimates are yet available for developing countries.