BANGALORE: Though India is passing through a phase of economic slowdown that has gripped the entire world, the country leads all other countries in exports of information communication technology (ICT) services, said a World Bank report.

In its latest report, 'World Development Indicators 2009', World Bank said India's exports from the ICT sector increased from about $5 billion in 2000 to over $30 billion in 2006, accounting for about 42 per cent of total service exports. India’s software industry employs about 1.6 million people.

China is the next largest ICT services trader, with about $5.5 billion in ICT service exports, it added. Export growth was led by manufactures in China and by services in India.

The WDI 2009, released on Wednesday, tells the story through comprehensive data of how developing countries benefited from a long period of prosperity which may now be set back due to the current crisis.

The WDI document says developing countries are becoming larger users and exporters of high technology. High technology goods made up 19 per cent of the manufactured exports of developing countries in 2007.

The leading region was East Asia & Pacific, where 31 per cent of manufactured exports were classified as high technology, followed by Latin America and the Caribbean (12 per cent), and Europe and Central Asia (6 per cent).