IfG.CC -
Institute for eGovernment

According to the report prepared and released jointly by INSEAD and the World Economic Forum (WEF), the UAE has risen in the rankings in recent years because of the central role of IT in the government's agenda, particularly almost 100 per cent achieving the e-Government task introduced a decade ago. The UAE secured the 24th rank in the world, leading the MENA region, followed by Qatar (25), Bahrain (30), Saudi Arabia (33) and Oman (41).

The report also suggests the top three GCC countries continued to feature prominently in the rankings in the top 30 global list.

The UAE has seen an improvement in its score from 6.09 (out of 10) in 2008 to 6.12 in 2009, which has resulted in the country being ranked 34 (2008 rank: 35) among 70 countries listed in the Economist Intelligence Unit's (EIU) e-Readiness Rankings 2009.

In late 2007, the Abu Dhabi Government undertook its first research project to measure the Emirate's capability to apply and benefit from Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), clearly demonstrating its commitment to developing both e-Maturity and e-Government.

ICT can help developing countries frog-leap stages of development and usher them into first world economies according to a five year strategic plan by the National Information Technology Authority Uganda (NITA-U).

The latest regular survey covers 32 countries (27 EU member states plus Croatia, Iceland, Norway, Switzerland and Turkey) and measures six core indicators including user experience and sophistication.

But the UK was far from the best performing. Top of the chart was Malta, which established itself as the European leader in e-government after achieving 100% in five of the six core indicators measured.

The UK is behind other countries when it comes to providing e-government services, according to the European Commission.

The Commission has released its 9th Benchmark Measurement of European eGovernment Services report, carried out by IT outsourcer Capgemini, research institute Rand Europe, the analyst group IDC and the Danish Technological Institute (DTI).

The country outperforms the EU average on most of the benchmark indicators in the report and sports some of the highest levels in internet connectivity and broadband penetration.

The UK ranks fifth place in Europe for sophistication and availability of online government services, according to the annual e-government benchmark study by Capgemini.

The survey assesses the online capabilities of more than 5,000 public agencies in 31 countries across Europe. Austria performed the best, followed by Malta, Slovenia and Portugal. The UK has improved slightly from its performance last year, when it came sixth.

The UK is the fifth most advanced European country for electronic government services, says the annual benchmark survey from Capgemini.

Austria is top of the league, following by Malta, Slovenia and Portugal. The UK is up one place since last year with 89 per cent of services now available online.

The report – Government at a Glance 2009 – found the UK was bettered only by Austria and Portugal in the sophistication of its e-services. In terms of e-government readiness, the UK was rated 10th out of all OECD countries, with Sweden at the top and the US fourth.

The survey said the UK was one of four countries, alongside Austria, Malta and Portugal, to have full online availability. The survey found it had progressed 10 points since 2007. The UK also ranked 7th for sophistication of services.

The UK has risen one place this year, in the World Economic Forum’s Networked Readiness Index (NRI) 2006-2007.

The US was knocked off the top position and plummeted to seventh in the league. Denmark climbed from third to first while Sweden moved to second from eighth and Finland moved from fifth to fourth.

The relevant section of Government at a Glance 2009, published by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, shows the UK comes third behind Austria and Portugal in the sophistication of its e-services, and is in a similar position for their full online capability.

The government is also on track to save a cumulative GBP 1.2 billion (US$ 2 billion) by 2015, the Minister said. “Our digital-by-default agenda is part of our long-term economic plan to tackle the deficit we inherited. I’m pleased to announce today that we expect to save at least GBP 500 million (US$ 820 million) from IT spend this year, on top of the GBP 500 million (US$ 820 million) we saved from government’s IT spend last year and GBP 250 million (US$ 410 million) the year before,” he added.

The UK is a nation of digital shopkeepers, according to the latest European Commission survey.

Britain leads Europe in the percentage of businesses with an online presence (a third of all companies), and is in the top three of Europe for e-commerce as a proportion of all turnover.

Birmingham is the most advanced city in Europe in provision of eGovernment, according to a new report.

The city has come top of a benchmarking survey of e-goverance initiatives in 35 European cities across 12 EU Member States.

Birmingham has the most advanced egovernment in Europe, according to a study by the Spanish university of Zaragoza.

The study rated 35 European cities on the breadth and depth of the online services they provide, the level of e-democracy that has been developed, and how much elected officials use it to communicate.

The new GRO website tells people clearly and simply how to register a birth or death in England and Wales, how to go about getting married, and how to get copies of the certificates for these vital events in people’s lives. It also offers guidance on the services provided by the Family Records Centre.