IfG.CC -
Institute for eGovernment

There is also good improvement in terms of online citizen and business services indices, which show that the Omani Government and the Information Technology Authority (ITA) policies are yielding results. The ranking for e-Services this year is at 35 compared to its position of 55 in the 2010 Report.

The capital, Muscat, has improved its performance in the world's Smart City Index by moving up eight points to 88 from 96 in the previous year, which was prepared by the International Institute for Management Development (IMD).

The Index takes into account the economic and technological aspects of smart cities on the one hand and the “humane dimensions” of smart cities (quality of life, environment, and inclusiveness) on the other. The other GCC cities also improved rankings with Riyadh moving up to 25 from 31, Doha to 48 from 54, Dubai to 12 from 14, and Abu Dhabi to 10 from 13. The top ten smart cities are Zurich, Oslo, Canberra, Geneva, Singapore, Copenhagen, Lausanne, London, and Helsinki, apart from Abu Dhabi. A Smart City system is about the integration of all the utilities, infrastructure, and citizen services on a single platform and a unified dashboard for the efficient, reliable, and resilient operation of the city.

Muscat has improved its standing in the global IMD Smart City Index, rising to 87th place out of 142 cities ranked worldwide in the 2025 edition. Muscat was ranked 88th in 2024 and 96th in 2023.

The index, developed by World Competitiveness Center (WCC) of IMD Business School, assesses cities on how they balance economic and technological development with quality of life indicators such as housing, healthcare, mobility, governance and inclusiveness.

Muscat residents identified unemployment, affordable housing and public transport as the top priority areas needing attention

Muscat is ranked 88th out of 142 cities in the 2024 Smart City Index (SCI), reflecting a significant improvement from its 96th position last year. The index, developed by International Institute for Management Development, assesses residents’ perceptions of the infrastructure and technology applications in their cities.

The report pointed out to the growth made by the Sultanate in the field of e-government, as well as the successful policies adopted by the government in this field which helped the Sultanate to get this rank, 18 positions better compared to 2010. The Sultanate came sixth on the Arab level in the same report

The Sultanate stood fifth among the Arab countries on Networked Readiness Index (NRI) of the Global Information Technology Report 2012 issued by the World Economic Forum. The Sultanate was placed at 40 internationally among 142 countries included in the report.

The NRI measures the propensity for countries to exploit the opportunities offered by information and communications technology (ICT).

The Sultanate of Oman ranking has improved in the United Nations eGovernment Survey 2018 published by United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA), according to the ITA. Oman is ranked 63 out of the 193 member state countries.

Compared to the 2016 scores, Oman has improved on all the three indices and is ranked 6th among the Arab countries and 2nd in the online services index.

The annual Global IT Report remains the world’s most comprehensive and authoritative international assessment of the impact of information communications technologies (ICTs) on the development process and the competitiveness of nations.

The NRI, featured in the report, ex-amines how prepared countries are to use ICT effectively across three component sub-indexes: the general business, regulatory, and infrastructure environment; the readiness of the three key stakeholder groups in a society: individuals, businesses, and governments to use and benefit ICT; and the actual usage of the latest ICTs available.

COVID-19 has seen a move towards digital services more than ever and has seen a speed up to use Artificial Intelligence technology

Enjoying the 50th global position in e-government in the UN index, the Sultanate’s focus areas now are telecom and human capital, which stand at 63 and 72 positions respectively.

The Ministry of Technology and Communications (MoTC) is studying how to improve these two sectors.

The report notes that the sultanate has established a secure infrastructure and national IT training and capacity building base, and specifically mentions the launch of the official eGovernment Services Portal. Published for the ninth consecutive year and covering 133 countries worldwide and with over 100 indicators and detailed profiles of each of the countries featured, the Global IT Report is regarded as the most comprehensive and authoritative international assessment of the impact of ICT on the development process and the competitiveness of nations.

With coverage of 138 economies worldwide, the report is the world's most comprehensive and authoritative international assessment of the impact of ICT on the development process and the competitiveness of nations.

The index indicates how governments create an environment in which citizens can be more active and supportive of their governments.

Oman also recorded good improvement in terms of online citizen and business services indices. The country’s ranking for eServices this year is at 35 compared to 55 in the 2010 Report.

Oman has been ranked among the top three countries in e-government in a new report.

The e-government report for 2017 issued by the Institute of e-Government at Japanese Waseda University, has ranked the Sultanate third in its overall index.

Oman ranks fifth in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) as the ICT industry continues to develop rapidly across the region, behind Qatar, the highest-ranked MENA country at 23rd, United Arab Emirates (25th), Bahrain (29th) and Saudi Arabia (31st). The report notes that: 'Gulf Co-operation Council states have sharply improved their overall performances and have continued their investments to make ICT one of the key national industries that attempt to diversify and transform their economies'. This is reflected in Oman's global ranking.

The Sultanate has ranked fifth in the Arab world in the list of countries with highly developed electronic governance systems, according to a report issued by the United Nations.

A statement issued online by the Oman News Agency (ONA), said: "The United Nations ranked Oman fifth in the Arab world in the list of countries considered 'very advanced in the field of electronic government' across the world for the current year 2020, according to a new report issued by the Department of Economic and Social Affairs affiliated to the UN."

The Sultanate continues to score high in government functions such as effectiveness of law-making bodies (12th) and the efficiency of the legal system (14th), clearly indicating that Oman's transition plans to become a knowledge-based society are making significant headway.

Through the establishment of secure infrastructure, national IT training and capacity building, the launch of the Official eGovernment Services Portal, in addition to standards frameworks, policies, and increased awareness, Oman has placed in the 50th position in the Global IT Report 2009-2010 among 133 countries, released 25 March 2010, by the World Economic Forum.

Zu diesem Ergebnis kommt eine Studie des Arbeitskreises eGovernment des Kompetenzzentrums für moderne Informations- und Kommunikationstechnologien der Regionalen Innovationsstrategie Weser-Ems (www.ris-it.net). Der Landkreis Osnabrück erzielte die höchste Punktzahl für seine angebotenen elektronischen Verwaltungsgeschäfte; bewertet wurden unter anderem die Nutzungsfreundlichkeit, die Bereitstellung interaktiver Formulare, die Erreichbarkeit der Mitarbeiter per E-Mail sowie die angebotenen Serviceleistungen.

According to a report released by the United Nations titled "United Nations Survey 2008; from e-Governance to Connected Governance", e-governance was best tool to check transparency, accountability, efficiency and effectiveness of any government.