Global Information Technology Report

[Bellamy]

Singapore overtakes the United States in the World Economic Forum's Global Information Technology Report

Ranking Places Singapore as the World’s Most Successful Economy in Exploiting ICT Developments – US Falls to Fifth Place

 

Highlights of the Results of the Networked Readiness Index Rankings 2004-2005

 

Singapore tops the rankings of the Networked Readiness Index 2004-2005 for the first time. This is primarily due to its superior performance in terms of the ability of individuals and government to tap into the potential of ICT, as well as actual government usage of ICT. Singapore’s remarkable performance is a consequence of the government’s consistent and continuous efforts in fostering ICT penetration and usage, as well as the quality of the country’s educational system and its able use of foreign technology.

 

The United States drops to number 5, following a three-year reign at the top. However, the loss in rank is less due to actual erosion in performance with respect to its past history and more the result of other countries scaling up positions. The United States maintains global leadership in the business readiness component of the Networked Readiness Index as well as in variables such as the quality of its scientific research institutions and business schools – which have no peer in the world – and the availability of training opportunities for the labour force as well as the existence of a well-developed venture capital market, which has spurred innovation.

 

Nordic countries continue to build up an impressive track record in the ICT area, with Iceland, Finland, Denmark and Sweden in the second, third, fourth and sixth places respectively (and Norway a respectable 13th). Iceland, in particular, achieved the greatest improvement among the top performers, climbing from number 10 the previous year to 2 overall in 2004. Nordic countries have registered consistently high ICT penetration rates and the top ten positions over the last four years. Governments, the business communities and households are enthusiastic users of new technologies and the countries have a distinguished record in technological innovation. Sweden, Finland and Denmark, in particular, consistently outrank some of the larger European economies in terms of the number of US patents registered per million population, a frequently used indicator of a nation’s innovation record. They also enjoy an enviable regulatory and institutional environment that has nurtured the growth of the ICT sector.

 

Asia and the Pacific do extremely well this year with Singapore at number 1, Hong Kong and Japan entering for the first time in the top ten, at 7 and 8 respectively, and Australia, Taiwan, New Zealand, Korea and Malaysia quite well positioned at 11, 15, 21, 24 and 27 respectively. India and China significantly improve their positions climbing to number 39 and 41, compared to 45 and 51 in 2003, respectively. Japan’s top ten performance is noteworthy, given the country’s impressive track record in the area of technological innovation, second only to the United States in terms of US patents registered.

 

Estonia leads the central and eastern European countries with a rank of 25 out of 104, thanks to its excellent regulatory framework for ICT. The formerly centrally planned economies in this region tend to rank higher than some of the larger countries in Latin America, with Estonia, Slovenia, Hungary, the Czech Republic and Lithuania, scoring higher than Brazil, Mexico and Argentina, the three largest Latin American economies. Impressive levels of foreign direct investment to central and eastern Europe during the past decade, reflecting comprehensive reforms adopted ahead of EU accession, have played a central role in this process.

 

The highest ranking Latin American country is Chile (35), well ahead of Brazil (46), Mexico (60) and Argentina (76). With the exception of Chile, the region as a whole suffers from a poor legal framework for the development of the ICT sector, heavy administrative burdens, low levels of government prioritization for ICT development, low Internet penetration rates and pervasive brain drain, which undermines the potential for faster growth of the economies’ ICT sectors. Most countries have thus seen an erosion in their relative ranks within the 104 economies covered.

 

South Africa and Tunisia strengthen their dominant positions among the 23 African countries covered by the Index, positioning themselves in 34th and 31st place overall, up from 37th and 40th position last year respectively. Mauritius ranks 47 and Botswana ranks 50. Botswana has improved its position by 5 places.

 

Among the other markets, Israel’s performance remains noteworthy, posting a rank of 18 overall showing excellent scores in variables such as levels of technological sophistication, the quality of scientific research institutions, the availability of venture capital and mobile phone penetration. Israel and Taiwan have scientific establishments that have built up impressive track records for technological innovation. Both Israel and Taiwan have an annual number of US patents registered per million population that is second only to the United States and Japan. Also worth mentioning are the cases of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Bahrain, both included in the Index for the first time and entering the rankings at 23 and 33 respectively. Notably, the UAE’s first-rate performance seems to be led by a successful government strategy in promoting ICT penetration and usage.

 

A comparison of the Networked Readiness Index scores over the last four years confirms last year’s trend of a narrowing digital divide between the most developed and least developed economies.

 

http://news.mydrivers.com/pages/images/20050310180745_53870.jpg

http://www.weforum.org/site/homepublic.nsf...chnology+Report