IfG.CC -
Institute for eGovernment

The Central Government’s Digital India campaign has finally borne fruit as India has climbed 11 ranks in four years to gain a place among the top 100 nations as per the United Nations E-Government Development Index (EGDI). The latest 2018 version of the e-governance index released on July 19 shows India at the 96th position with a score of 0.5669, a massive leap from the 107th rank in 2016.

Denmark has emerged at the top with a magnificent score of 0.9150, followed by Australia and South Korea. Europe has been named the pioneer in fastest online services whereas the progress in American and Asian countries is slower but quite significant. Many countries lying in the middle-income and even in the low-income bracket including Bangladesh have improved their rankings considerably owing to the introduction of online services via emails, mobile apps, SMS/RSS feed updates. In fact, among the SAARC countries, Sri Lanka has surpassed India with a rank of 94.

London leads as Europe’s number one smart city with more 5G towers, EV charging stations and green infrastructure. The study by ProptechOS also compared capital cities in Europe to the US.

London has been rated as Europe’s No 1 smart city in a new study by ProptechOS. England’s capital was named by the real estate firm as the best-prepared city for a smart future, with an overall score of 73.7 out of 100, edging out Amsterdam in second place and Berlin in third with Paris and Lisbon coming in fourth and fifth respectively. 

According to the '2010 UN eGovernment Readiness Survey,' Saudi Arabia has advanced from 70 to 58, and Kuwait from 57 to 50, and Oman from 84 to 82, which is attributed to the continuous investment in IT infrastructure by these countries.

In the 2024 Smart City Index (SCI), cities across the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) have shown notable progress in integrating technology and infrastructure. Abu Dhabi and Dubai lead the region, ranked 10th and 12th globally, respectively. This year's index, developed by the International Institute for Management Development, evaluates how residents perceive their city’s infrastructure and the effectiveness of technology in everyday life.

The Foundation has confirmed that the growing efforts by GCC governments to promote digital transformation and literacy has helped further enhance the region's collective ranking in the 2010 UN eGovernment Readiness Survey, which presented various roles for e-government in addressing the global financial crisis. Bahrain and the UAE occupied the top two rankings respectively among Arab countries in the survey, followed by Kuwait at third, Saudi Arabia at fifth, Qatar at sixth and Oman at eighth.

The commitment by governments around the region to develop e-presence has also had a major impact on the regional Information Technology (IT) industry. "Through efforts to automate, integrate and streamline their services, regional governments have driven much of the demand for IT in the region," Bashar Kilani, manager of IBM's Middle East software group in Dubai, told OBG. For instance, in the UAE the government accounts for between 40% and 50% of the IT market.

The survey is carried out every two years and takes stock of how countries around the world are progressing towards achieving true e-Government status. This year’s report found many have put in place e-government initiatives including the acceleration of the adoption of ICT across the public sector in order to deliver more efficient, more transparent, more inclusive and more sustainable government to all citizens.

The Digital Quality of Life (DQL) Index has published its annual study on what tangible factors have the greatest impact on various countries’ digital wellbeing, and which areas should be prioritized in improving their potential.

The DQL index is published annually based on research conducted by the privacy protection company Surfshark. The study indexes countries by looking at five fundamental pillars that define the digital quality of life: internet quality, affordability, e-security, online government services and e-infrastructure.

EBRD conducted a study in 2012-2013 which showed that since the last assessment of the system of electronic public procurement in Georgia, there was significant progress in all criteria and among the 26 member countries Georgia came out on top, a report of the country's Ministry of Economy said.

The German internet association Eco has put the states of Hessen, Baden-Wurttemberg and North Rhine-Westphalia in the first three positions of its first study on Digitale Landerkompass digital policy.

The state of Hessen ranked first mainly due to the fact that it has developed a comprehensive digitization strategy and a large number of concrete funding projects. The Department of Digital Strategy and Development, which is directly under the Prime Minister of the state, was founded in January of this year and deals primarily with questions of artificial intelligence and the needs the firms in terms of digitization and social acceptance.

The third annual edition of the Digital Quality of Life Index (DQL) ranks Ghana 89th among 110 countries. Covering 90% of the global population, the DQL study is conducted by the cybersecurity company Surfshark and evaluates countries based on a set of five fundamental digital wellbeing pillars. Joining the study for the first time, Ghana displays comparatively low results in internet affordability (106th), internet quality (99th), e-infrastructure (99th), e-security (78th), and e-government (83rd).

Regionally, Ghana ranks 2nd in Western Africa, surpassing Senegal, Mali, and Côte D’Ivoire. Nigeria ranks 1st in the region, but Ghana outperforms the country in internet affordability and e-government. Additionally, broadband internet is four times faster and two times more affordable in Ghana than in Nigeria. However, Ghana still ranks on the lower end of the internet affordability index. People in Ghana have to work almost 21 hours to afford the cheapest broadband internet package, 3.5 more than the global average.

The delegation was received by Ali Mehad Al Suwaidi, Acting Director General and Badryah Youssef Hussain, IT Director at the Ministry. GIA delegation included Salem Al Housani, Deputy Director and Ibrahim Al Badawi, Strategic Planning Specialist.

“ICT Sustainability: The Global Benchmark 2012 Report,” which summarizes responses from 1,200 CIOs and senior managers from eight countries, found efforts to improve ICT sustainability in organizations have reached a plateau. The global ICT Sustainability Index, or ITSx, declined slighting in 2012, falling to 53.1 from 54.3 in 2011 and a high of 56.4 in 2010.

Despite efforts over the past decade to develop information and communications technologies (ICT) infrastructure in developing economies, a new digital divide in terms of ICT impacts persists, according to the latest rankings of The Global Information Technology Report 2012: Living in a Hyperconnected World, released today by the World Economic Forum.

Estonia was the highest ranked Central and Eastern European country.

The table of rankings for 2013 was topped by Finland, followed by Singapore, Sweden, the Netherlands, Norway, Switzerland, the UK, Denmark, US and Taiwan.

However, few in Malaysia are familiar with the Global Information Technology Report (GITR). It is perhaps time that we acquaint ourselves better with the GITR.

Greece ranks third from the bottom among the 28 European Union member states in digital economy and society, according to the Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI) publicized on Saturday.

The result of the European Commission study shows the performance of the 28 member states in a wide range of areas, from connectivity and digital skills to the digitization of businesses and public services. The main conclusion is that Europe is making progress but the gap is still very wide between the countries that have developed a strong digital economy and society and the countries with low performance.