Asian Countries Advance in the E-Readiness Rankings

Government Technology, April 27, 2007. "E-readiness continues to improve around the world in 2007, but achieving it is becoming more complex. Several countries, particularly in Asia, have seen their positions improve, while others have experienced (mostly slight) declines. At the same time, the fundamental tenets of e-readiness remain unchanged, and the leaders in 2006 are still leaders today - nine of last year's top ten countries remain in that bracket..."

The 2007 e-readiness rankings

Written in co–operation with the IBM Institute for Business Value. Economist Intelligence Unit, 2007. "E-readiness continues to improve around the world in 2007, but achieving it is becoming more complex. To reflect this, the Economist Intelligence Unit has "raised the bar" of e-readiness by modifying its ranking methodology. This change in methodology, along with underlying improvements in individual countries, has led to changes in the league table. Several countries, particularly in Asia, have seen their positions improve, while others have experienced (mostly slight) declines. At the same time, the fundamental tenets of e-readiness remain unchanged, and the leaders in 2006 are still leaders today—nine of last year’s top ten countries remain in that bracket..."

The 2006 e-readiness rankings

Economist Intelligence Unit, 2006. "A white paper from the Economist Intelligence Unit Written in co-operation with the IBM Institute for Business Value. With over 1bn Internet users and 2bn mobile-phone users worldwide, and continual progress in most qualitative indicators of technology-related development, the world in early 2006 may be proclaimed ever more "e-ready". This year’s e-readiness rankings reflect such progress, as all but two countries have improved their scores from the previous year..."

Global Information Technology Report 2005-2006

World Economic Forum, March 2006. "The Report uses the Networked Readiness Index (NRI), covering a total of 115 economies in 2005-2006, to measure the degree of preparation of a nation or community to participate in and benefit from ICT developments. The NRI is composed of three component indexes which assess: the environment for ICT offered by a given country or community; the readiness of the community's key stakeholders - individuals, business and governments; and the usage of ICT among these stakeholders..."

[The report is no longer available online at http://www.weforum.org/site/homepublic.nsf/Content/Global+Competitiveness+Programme%5CGlobal+Information+Technology+Report. It can be purchased from the World Economics Forum Website.]

Commentary on the report can still also be found on the WEForum Website

The US regains first position in the rankings of the World Economic Forum's Global Information Technology Report 2005-2006

Singapore, Denmark, Iceland and Finland follow, confirming the ICT dominance of Asia and the Nordic countries. World Economic Forum, Press Release, 28 March 2006 - Geneva, Switzerland. "The United States tops the rankings of The Global Information Technology Report 2005-2006’s “Networked Readiness Index” for the third time in five years, maintaining its eminent position as a leader in the area of innovation and confirming its position as an information and communication technology powerhouse..."

Taking the pain out of online participation: E-government usability and accessibility - in pdf format (3963kb)

(This document requires the use of Adobe Acrobat Reader). Public Sector Technology and Management, v.3.2, March/April 2006. Contents Include:

• Driving government integration with web services - p 8
• Rugged, reliable and cost effective satellite communications for remote or harsh geographies - p 16
• Work culture and IT systems at Alexandra Hospital (Singapore) - p.20
• Scalable governance in a fast-growing environment - p24
• Optical document security and certificate or origin - p26
• Consideration for successful public sector e-procurement implementations - p30
• Taking the pain out of online participation: e-government usability and accessibility- p34
• Citizen participating driven by web access in Dubai - p.37
• E-government in Australia: it works - p.38
• Under construction: Government websites in the Philippines - p.40
• Critical e-Government success factors for developing countries - p42
• Migrating government services to the mobile channel - p46
• Progress of e-government and administrative reform in Iran - p48
• Innovation and knowledge management in Finland - p56

UN Global E-government Readiness Report - 2005

The E-government Readiness Index 2005. "The UN Global E-government Survey 2005 presents a comparative ranking of the countries of the world according to two primary indicators: i) the state of e-government readiness; and ii) the extent of e-participation. Constructing a model for the measurement of digitized services, the Survey assesses the 191 member states of the UN according to a quantitative composite index of e-government readiness based on website assessment; telecommunication infrastructure and human resource endowment..."

Governments on the WWW

Comprehensive database of governmental institutions on the World Wide Web: parliaments, ministries, offices, law courts, embassies, city councils, public broadcasting corporations, central banks, multi-national organizations etc. Includes also political parties. Online since June 1995. Contains more than 12000 entries from 219 countries and territories as of April 1999.