Red Hat and Georgia Tech have published the results of a collaborative research project which attempted to measure relative open source software adoption by region. The study illuminates open source hot spots and provides some insight into where the development model is most prevalent.

The report quantifies open source activity and also provides some statistical insight into the potential for growth in open source adoption for each region. The factors used to evaluate the level of open source mojo in each region include government procurement and research policies, the number of Red Hat Certified Engineers and registered Linux users, the volume of discussion about open source topics in regional media, and Linux localization support for the region's dominant language.

These statistics were used as the basis for formulating a global open source activity index. Countries are ranked by overall activity and scores are also provided to indicate the level of open source adoption in government and industry. Europe ranks high in the global index, which lists France, Spain, and Germany as the countries with the highest level of open source activity. The United States came in ninth place. The following is a list of the top ten and their respective scores:

France (1.35) Spain (1.07) Germany (1.05) Australia (1.04) Finland (1.03) United Kingdom (1.00) Norway (0.95) Estonia (0.89) United States of America (0.89) Denmark (0.79)

The data can be explored interactively in a Web-based map made available by Red Hat. You can click individual countries to see their ranking and scores. The raw data and published reports are available from the same website.

A summary paper which describes the methodology of the research project indicates that the report is still a work in progress and acknowledges that "missing values are prevalent in the dataset and, unfortunately, require difficult choices and compromises in order to produce in index." Like most studies of this nature, it lacks authoritative clarity but provides useful insights within the boundaries of statistical rigor.

Despite the limitations of the methodology, the study demonstrates that open source is a global phenomenon that is having a broad impact on public policy and commercial IT.

"As the study indicates, open source is thriving across the globe," said Dr. Paul M.A. Baker, the research director of Georgia Tech's Center for Advanced Communications Policy. "In keeping with the open source model, we see this study as a starting point and look to others to continue to build on the information contained in the study to make it more comprehensive and reflective of the expansion of the open source software model."

The results of the study shed light on where the open source software movement is strongest. As the project evolves, it could provide a useful framework for illuminating the regional prevalence of other emerging trends in open source software.