IfG.CC -
Institute for eGovernment

Bahrain is the highest climber among Gulf nations in this year's rankings and over a three-year period, having gained 21 places since 2006.

Bahrain has climbed 29 places from 42nd in 2008 in the survey, which considers e-Government development in the context of the overall economic and social development of a country. According to Shaikh Mohammed bin Essa Al Khalifa, Chief Executive of the Bahrain Economic Development Board (EDB), the ranking further demonstrates Bahrain’s commitment to achieving the ambitions of the country’s National Economic Strategy and Vision 2030; both are designed to encourage further private sector growth, support further diversification of the economy and ultimately elevate national living standards by creating greater opportunities for Bahrainis.

The Global Information Technology Report 2012 ranked 142 economies by examining the correlation between ICT readiness and economic growth.

In the Networked Readiness Index (NRI), Bahrain was ranked 27th globally and first in the Middle East and North Africa region, up three places on the previous year.

Deputy Premier HH Shaikh Mohammed bin Mubarak Al Khalifa the chairman of the Supreme Commission for Education and Training Development dispatched a message of thanks to the Minister of Education Dr. Majid bin Ali Al-Nuaimi on the occasion of the Kingdom of Bahrain's attaining this advanced position.

TRA's Chairman and Acting General Director Dr. Mohammed Al Amer praised the industry achievement and said "This United Nations recognition is a direct result of the vision of HRH Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa the Crown Prince, the guidance of HE Shaikh Ahmed bin Ateyatala Al Khalifa Minister of Cabinet Affairs, Minster responsible for telecommunications sector and the dedicated work of TRA team in encouraging infrastructure investment that supports the delivery of wider range of telecommunications services. I would like to thank all licensed operators for their investment and for putting faith in us."

No other Arab country or Middle Eastern country has ever reached such high levels

It moved from 46th position in 2008 globally, according to the United Nations' e-Government Readiness report of 2010.

"Through the regulatory measures, we are aiming to achieve higher Internet reach to the public at affordable prices to enable them benefit from e-Government services and applications," TRA chairman and acting general-director Dr Mohammed Al Amer said.

With this certification, the Kingdom of Bahrain is the first country in the Middle East to have received the ISO certification in the eGovernment field.

The eGovernment Authority is one of the few entities in Bahrain to receive such a certification on the performance of all its directorates, operations and services provided to the public. The ISO is a set of international standards to assess various industries and services, the ISO 27001 certification is an auditable international standards that have been specifically developed to evaluate the Information Security Management Systems (ISMS) and data protection.

However, the ranking is not still satisfactory as other Saarc countries, except for Nepal, averages well than Bangladesh.

Batelco is the first telecommunications company in the Kingdom of Bahrain to have its online e-Services certified with ISO 27001.

A number of Batelco teams, led by the Information Security Team, cooperated to complete the comprehensive process and meet all the set criteria required by the auditing team at Bureau Veritas.

Index of e-government is formed of three factors: the extent and quality of online services, the development of telecommunications infrastructure and human capital. Belarus has special achievements in the indicator of the level of telecommunications infrastructure development. Thus, Belarus has risen by 36 positions from 84th to 48th place in this index compared to 2008.

BC ranked first, notching top marks for citizen-centricity and engagement. Alberta ranked second in Canada, shining in similar areas. Ontario ranked third, given accolades for success in "organizing succinct online information."

New research from internet consultancy iQ Content shows that while Britain’s eGovernment initiative outstrips Irish efforts, many British eGovernment websites are still failing to deliver value to citizens.

Haiyan Qian, director of UN’s Division for Public Administration and Development Management under the Department of Economic and Social Affairs, said that this year Brunei has been ranked 68th out 192 UN member states surveyed for the development of their respective e-governments. In 2008, Brunei ranked 87th.

This has been a big leap for the country which was placed at 28th position in 2007.

The considerable leap in ranking reflects the pace of progress in the Brunei’s e-Government initiatives to build ICT infrastructure, deliver electronic services and developing human resource capacities and capabilities within the country.

The report highlights the key role of ICT as an enabler of a more economically, environmentally and socially sustainable world.

This is Brunei’s second entry into the report and this time a rise has been seen under the “Readiness” category, where it was given the overall rank of 5155, with Business Readiness rising from 67th to 37th and Government Readiness rising from 45th to 29th, though Individual Readiness has fallen from 40th to 76th.

"The move is aimed at improving the image of the ministries and departments under the government while providing updates and important information to end-users from time to time," Acting Director of the Department of Information, Hj Mahrub Hj Murni told The Brunei Times yesterday.

British Columbia ranks first overall for its eGovernment initiatives, specifically the provision of online services and information and online engagement of citizens, a Stratford Institute study released today reveals. In this first-ever national evaluation of provincial governments' online presence commissioned by the Stratford Institute and prepared by Brainmaven Research, Alberta takes second place, and Ontario ranks third overall.