2002 Global IT IQ Report March 2002

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2002

Global IT IQ Report

March 2002

For additional information, please contact:

Eileen Townsend 703-674-3430 Brainbench, Inc.

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What the Report Covers

For the first time, Brainbench – the global leader in online testing -- has mined its extensive database of more than 3.5 million registered users to identify the countries and geographic regions with the highest concentrations of certified professionals in 30 of the most critical information technology skill areas. The result is the Brainbench Global IT IQ Report, which identifies a number of key IT certification metrics, including:

The total number of certified IT professionals by country for North

America, Europe, Russia and the Newly Independent States, the Middle East, South Asia, the Pacific Rim and Australia/New Zealand.

Breakout data on the number of IT professionals in all 30 categories for Iran, Iraq and Afghanistan

Detailed data on the top 10 IT certifications within 10 of the largest U.S. metropolitan statistical areas

Methodology

Brainbench mined its database to determine the 30 most popular tests and certifications around the globe in 2001. Results for each test were sorted by country and consolidated into an overall indicator of the total number of certified IT professionals in all 30 categories. Results were then grouped by geographic region of the world so that they could be compared and contrasted.

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The following are the top 30 certifications (listed alphabetically) analyzed for the report:

Active Server Pages C

C++

Computer Technical Support HTML 3.2 HTML 4.0 Java 1 Java 2 Java 2 - GUI Java 2 - Non-GUI Javascript

Linux Administration (General) Linux Administration (Red Hat) Linux Administration (SuSE) Linux Programming (General) MS Windows 98 Administration MS Windows NT 4.0 Administration Network Technical Support

Oracle PL/SQL RDBMS Concepts Unix Administration (AIX) Unix Administration (General) Unix Administration (HP) Unix Administration (Solaris) Unix Korn Shell Scripting Unix Programming (General) Visual Basic 5.0

Visual Basic 6.0 XML

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Summary Findings

• The top 10 countries with the most certified IT professionals are: 1) United States 2) India 3) Russian Federation 4) Ukraine 5) Canada 6) Romania 7) United Kingdom 8) Bulgaria 9) Pakistan 10) Australia

• In the U.S., the San Francisco area overtakes last year’s winner

Seattle as the top IT IQ city with more than 2,200 certified professionals. Seattle/Tacoma drops to number nine in this year’s

rankings.

• In South Asia, India, with over 145,000 certifications in 2001, has the

second highest IT IQ in the world. Pakistan is a distant second in this

region with only slightly more than 8,000 certifications in 2001.

• The Russian Federation and Newly Independent States (NIS) have a

critical mass of certified IT professionals, with Russia receiving over 68,000 certifications last year. Turkmenistan has the fewest, with only

58 certifications in 2001.

• Israel leads the Middle East with more than 3,000 certifications in

2001. Yemen ranks last with only 3 certified professionals in 2001.

• In 2001, despite the Taliban regime, Afghani’s received 286 IT

certifications. Top certifications earned by Afghanis are for the C

programming language, Java 1, Java 2, Linux Administration and HTML 3.2

• Iran and Iraq, two of the three countries recently named by President

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No tests were taken, or certifications received, by participants from North Korea.

• In Europe, Romania leads the continent with over 16,000 IT

certifications in 2001, followed closely by the United Kingdom with almost 15,000. Bosnia and Herzegovina are last with just over 200

certifications received in 2001.

• In South America, Brazil leads the continent with more than 2,300

certified IT professionals, followed by number two Argentina with 800. Paraguay has the fewest in South America with 11 certified

professionals in 2001.

• In Asia and the Pacific Rim, Australia ranks first, with 6,800

certifications, followed closely by Indonesia with almost 5,900 certified professionals in 2001.

• On the African continent, South Africa is the clear leader, with more

than 2,600 certifications, placing it in the top 25 IT IQ countries on a worldwide basis.

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Detailed Results

The top 100 IT IQ countries in 2001 are ranked below:

Rank Country # of Certified Professionals 1 United States 194,211 2 India 145,517 3 Russian Federation 68,050 4 Ukraine 23,349 5 Canada 19,181 6 Romania 16,122 7 U.K. 14,642 8 Bulgaria 8,844 9 Pakistan 8,084 10 Australia 6,800 11 Indonesia 5,891 12 Belarus 5,481 13 Germany 4,802 14 Latvia 4,597 15 Sweden 4,357 16 Philippines 3,707 17 Singapore 3,559 18 Netherlands 3,378 19 Israel 3,164 20 Lithuania 2,972 21 South Africa 2,663 22 Brazil 2,340 23 Belgium 2,143 24 Estonia 2,054 25 Malaysia 1,919 26 Italy 1,882 27 Poland 1,784 28 Moldova 1,750 29 Viet Nam 1,686 30 Norway 1,593 31 France 1,588 32 Denmark 1,523

33 United Arab Emirates 1,485

34 Kazakhstan 1,471 35 Czech Republic 1,460 36 New Zealand 1,440 37 Ireland 1,411 38 China 1,325 39 Mexico 1,291 40 Turkey 1,221 41 Armenia 1,110 42 Hong Kong 1,103 Rank Country # of Certified Professionals 43 Croatia 1,070 44 Greece 1,070 45 Finland 1,044 46 Argentina 841 47 Switzerland 792 48 Spain 706 49 Yugoslavia 657 50 Georgia 644 51 Egypt 632 52 Hungary 630 53 Uzbekistan 623 54 Austria 620 55 Bangladesh 613 56 Saudi Arabia 592 57 Jordan 574 58 Thailand 569 59 Kyrgyzstan 564 60 Iran 522 61 Japan 503 62 Portugal 431 63 Nigeria 405 64 Kuwait 335 65 Venezuela 317 66 Columbia 313 67 Algeria 302 68 Cuba 300 69 Afghanistan 286 70 Zimbabwe 215 71 Angola 206 72 S. Korea 205 73 Qatar 204 74 Bosnia/Herzegovina 203 75 Lebanon 168 76 Oman 140 77 Taiwan 138 78 Chile 129 79 Peru 124 80 Kenya 94 81 Ecuador 86 82 Uruguay 80 83 Uganda 64

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Rank Country # of Certified Professionals 84 Turkmenistan 58 85 Morocco 56 86 Bolivia 55 87 Tanzania 53 88 Ghana 47 89 Syria 41 90 Rwanda 40 91 Namibia 36 92 Botswana 30 Rank Country # of Certified Professionals 93 Zambia 28 94 Gabon 25 95 Togo 22 96 Mozambique 21 97 Burkina Faso 21 98 Guyana 18 99 Burundi 18 100 Cambodia 17

The above numbers represent the IT certifications for 30 Brainbench tests. Brainbench overall has issued more than 700,000 IT certifications to unique test takers in more than 200 categories. The following estimates for unique test takers for other major programs are provided below:

Novell: 600,000

CompTIA: 550,000

MCSE: 437,000

Cisco: 400,000

South Asia:

India Certifications Second Only To U.S; Afghans Receive Certifications Despite Repressive Taliban Regime

In 2001, India is the clear leader in South Asia and second in the world, with more than 145,000 IT certifications awarded. Pakistan is a distant second, with just over 8,000 certifications earned, followed by Bangladesh and Afghanistan. Almost 300 professional IT certifications are earned in Afghanistan despite the repressive Taliban regime, with these certifications concentrated in C, Java and HTML.

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286 613 145,517 8,084 1,216 -20,000 40,000 60,000 80,000 100,000 120,000 140,000 160,000

Afghanistan Bangladesh India Pakistan Sri Lanka

South Asia IT Certifications

14 54 16 7 20 16 34 20 1 4 14 19 3 1 0 1 9 5 6 18 1 7 2 0 3 1 0 9 0 1 0 10 20 30 40 50 60

C++

Computer Technical Support HTML 3.2 HTML 4.0

Java 1 Java 2

Java 2 - GUI Java 2 - Non-GUI

Javascript

Linux Administration (General)Linux Administration (Red Hat) Linux Administration (SuSE)

Linux Programming (General) MS Windows 98 Administration

MS Windows NT 4.0 Administration Network Technical Support

Oracle PL/SQL RDBMS Concepts

Unix Administration (AIX) Unix Administration (General)

Unix Administration (HP) Unix Administration (Solaris)

Unix Korn Shell Scripting Unix Programming (General)

Visual Basic 5.0Visual Basic 6.0 XML XSL

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Middle East:

Israel Leads, but “Axis of Evil” Countries also Rank

Israel leads the Middle East in the total number of certifications with more than 3,100 received last year, but Iran and Iraq also place on the list. In Iran, the most popular certifications are Computer Technical Support, followed by C

programming and Network Technical Support.

220 632 522 10 3,164 574 335 168 140 19 204 592 41 1,485 3 0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000 3500 Bahrain Egypt Iran Iraq Israel Jordan Kuwait Lebanon Oman Palestine Qatar Saudi Arabia Syria

United Arab Emirates Yemen Middle East IT Certifications

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78 683 454 304 58 203 100 33 2 15 139131 34 0 5 135 157 96 51 157 0 130 1 4 5 51 5075 11 2 0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700

C++

Computer Technical Support HTML 3.2 HTML 4.0

Java 1 Java 2 Java 2 - GUI

Java 2 - Non-GUI Javascript

Linux Administration (General)Linux Administration (Red Hat) Linux Administration (SuSE)

Linux Programming (General) MS Windows 98 Administration

MS Windows NT 4.0 Administration Network Technical Support

Oracle PL/SQL RDBMS Concepts

Visual Basic 5.0Visual Basic 6.0 XML XSL Israeli 2001 IT Certifications 9 35 10 199 2328 3 9 0 2 16 28 12 0 11 2228 34 1 13 0 8 0 0 2 1 816 ₄ 0 0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180 200

C++

Computer Technical Support HTML 3.2HTML 4.0

Java 1Java 2

Java 2 - GUI Java 2 - Non-GUI

Javascript

Linux Administration (General)Linux Administration (Red Hat)Linux Administration (SuSE)Linux Programming (General)_{MS Windows 98 Administration} MS Windows NT 4.0 Administration

Network Technical Support Oracle PL/SQL

RDBMS Concepts

Visual Basic 5.0Visual Basic 6.0 XML XSL Islamic Republic of Iran IT Certification Detail

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South America:

Brazil Leads the Continent

Brazil leads the South American continent in the number of certified IT

professionals in 2001, however, despite economic woes, Argentina’s 841 places it a surprisingly strong second. Colombia and Venezuela are in a virtual tie for third, with 313 and 317 certifications respectively, while Cuba is right behind these countries with 300 certifications in 2001.

841 55 2,340 129 313 300 86 18 ₁₁ 124 ₈₀ 317 0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500 Argentina

Bolivia Brazil Chile Colombia Cuba Ecuador Guyana Paraguay Peru Uruguay Venezuela South American IT Certifications

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Russia and the Newly Independent States (NIS): Critical Mass of Certified Professionals

The Russian Federation is the clear leader with 68,050 certifications in 2001, providing a critical mass of IT professionals for firms doing business in that country. In addition, members of the NIS, such as Ukraine and Belarus appear to be developing their own critical mass of IT professionals, while the “Stans” are making some progress with the number of certified professionals.

1,110 ₇₁₁ 5,481 644 1,471 564 1,750 68,050 55 58 -10,000 20,000 30,000 40,000 50,000 60,000 70,000 Armenia Azerbaijan Belarus Georgia

Kazakhstan Kyrgyzstan Moldova Russian Federation

Tajikistan

Turkmenistan

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Europe:

Romanian Certifications Tops

In Europe, Romania takes a surprising lead over its continental neighbors, earning more than 16,000 certifications in 2001, which outpaces the United Kingdom in the number-two spot. Bulgaria places a strong third with over 6,800 certifications, while Germany and Latvia are in a virtual dead heat for fourth.

620 2,143 203 8,844 1,0701,4601,523 2,054 1,044 1,588 4,802 1,070 630 1,411 1,882 4,597 2,9723,378 1,5931,784 431 16,122 706 4,357 7921,221 14,642 657 -2,000 4,000 6,000 8,000 10,000 12,000 14,000 16,000 18,000 Austria _Belgium

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bulgaria Croatia

Czech Republic

Denmark Estonia Finland FranceGermany GreeceHungary Ireland Italy

Latvia Lithuania

Netherlands

Norway Poland Portugal Romania SpainSweden Switzerland

Turkey U.K. Yugoslavia European IT Certifications

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Asia/Australia/New Zealand:

Australia Leads, but Indonesia a Strong Number Two

With 6,800 certifications, Australia leads in the Asia/Pacific region in total certifications. Indonesia, however, with almost 6,000 certifications and the Philippines with over 3,700 certifications, also appear to be developing a critical mass of IT professionals. 6,800 17 1,325 1,103 5,891 503 1,919 1,440 3,707 205 3,559 138 569 1,686 -1,000 2,000 3,000 4,000 5,000 6,000 7,000 Australia Cambodia China

Hong Kong Indonesia Japan

Malaysia

New Zealand Philippines S. Korea

Singapore Taiwan

Thailand Viet Nam Asia/Pacific IT Certifications

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Africa:

South Africa Leads the Continent

South Africa has a commanding lead in the number of IT certifications on the African continent, with almost 2,700 earned in 2001. Many of these are concentrated in Computer Technical Support and Microsoft Windows NT 4.0 Administration. Nigeria is a distant second with slightly more than 400

certifications in the same period.

302 206 47 94 56 ₃₆ 405 40 2663 53 64 215 0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000

Algeria Angola Ghana Kenya

Morocco Namibia Nigeria Rwanda

South Africa Tanzania Uganda

Zimbabwe

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North America:

U.S. the Worldwide Leader

In North America, the United States leads the continent, and the world in 2001 with almost 200,000 IT certifications. Canada had a strong showing of almost 20,000 certifications for the year.

19,181 1,291 194,211 -20,000 40,000 60,000 80,000 100,000 120,000 140,000 160,000 180,000 200,000

Canada Mexico United States

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United States:

San Francisco Moves to Top Slot; Seattle/Tacoma Slides to Number Nine

In 2000, Seattle/Tacoma took top honors for the number of certified IT professionals, in 2001, the San Francisco Bay area earns this honor. In fact, there was a wholesale shakeup in the rankings in 2001 compared to 2000.

The IT IQ rankings for the top ten U.S. metropolitan areas are: 1. San Francisco/Oakland/San Jose, CA

2. New York/North Jersey/Long Island/Connecticut 3. Washington/Baltimore 4. Chicago/Gary/Lake County, IL 5. Dallas/Ft. Worth, TX 6. Los Angeles/Anaheim/Riverside, CA 7. Atlanta, GA 8. Detroit/Ann Arbor, MI 9. Seattle/Tacoma, WA 10. Denver/Boulder, CO 2001 vs. 2000 U.S. IT IQ Rankings

Year-over-year from 2000 to 2001, major shifts occurred in the IT IQ rankings of U.S. metropolitan areas. All but two metro areas fell out of the top ten rankings and were replaced by larger cities. Last year’s number two metro area, San Francisco, moved into the number one slot, while number one Seattle/Tacoma dropped to number nine.

2000 Rank 2001 Rank

1. Seattle 1. San Francisco -Oakland- San Jose

2. San Francisco -Oakland- San Jose 2. New York - N. New Jersey - Long Island - CT 3. Raleigh-Durham, NC 3. Washington/Baltimore

4. Minneapolis - St. Paul, MN 4. Chicago - Gary - Lake County, IL 5. Milwaukee-Racine, WI 5. Dallas - Ft. Worth

6. St. Louis, MO 6. LA - Anaheim - Riverside, CA

7. Dayton-Springfield, OH 7. Atlanta, GA

8. Austin, TX 8. Detroit - Ann Arbor, MI

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Total certifications by metropolitan area are ranked below. Detailed information on the top ten certifications for each metropolitan area is charted as well.

2,284 2,176 1,565 _1,523 1,465 _1,410 857 729 ₆₈₈ ₆₈₀ -500 1,000 1,500 2,000 2,500

SAN FRANCISCO-OAKLAND-SAN JOSE, CANY-NORTHERN NJ-LONG ISL, NY-NJ-CT WASHINGTON-BALTIMORE CHICAGO-GARY-LAKE CNTY,IL-IN-W I DALLAS-FORT W ORTH, TX LOS ANGELES-ANAHEIM-RIVERSIDE, CA ATLANTA, GA

DETROIT-ANN ARBOR, MI SEATTLE-TACOMA, W A

DENVER-BOULDER, CO

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1. San Francisco/Oakland/San Jose

2. New York/New Jersey/Long Island/Connecticut

240 280 173 143 329 216 205 181 192 217 150 200 250 300 350 NY-NJ-CT 158 360 211 109 314 173 353 233 188 185 0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400

C++

Computer Technical Support

HTML 3.2 HTML 4.0

Java 1 Java 2 Javascript

Network Technical Support

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3. Washington/Baltimore 4. Chicago/Gary/Lake County, IL 134 140 121 101 258 161 175 140 151 184 0 50 100 150 200 250 300

C++

HTML 3.2 HTML 4.0 Java 1 Java 2 Javascript

WASHINGTON-BALTIMORE 177 150 171 105 231 108 131 151 118 181 0 50 100 150 200 250

Active Server Pages

C _C++

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5. Dallas/Ft. Worth, TX 6. Los Angeles/Anaheim/Riverside, CA 138 147 147 117 240 89 183 136 115 153 0 50 100 150 200 250

C++

DALLAS-FORT WORTH 134 154 90 147 253 151 100 66 116 199 100 150 200 250 300 LA-ANAHEIM-RIVERSIDE

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7. Atlanta, GA 8. Detroit/Ann Arbor, MI 102 63 92 39 102 71 94 143 70 81 0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160

Active Server Pages

C _C++

ATLANTA, GA 84 35 39 91 113 54 69 84 75 85 0 20 40 60 80 100 120

C++

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9. Seattle/Tacoma, WA 10. Denver/Boulder, CO 65 83 67 58 110 85 31 33 61 95 0 20 40 60 80 100 120

C++

SEATTLE-TACOMA 46 82 57 36 101 104 78 64 58 54 40 60 80 100 120 DENVER-BOULDER

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The Brainbench Global IT IQ Report provides an overview of countries and geographic regions. Specific country data that details the number of certifications obtained in each of the 30 areas covered is available from Brainbench.

Additional information can be obtained by contacting:

Eileen Townsend 703-674-3430 Brainbench, Inc. 14901 Bogle Drive Chantilly, VA 20151