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Singapore tops the World Economic Technology report

In the recently published World Economic Forum's Global Information Technology Report, Singapore took the top billing out of a list of 104 countries. The report ranks Singapore as the top economy in exploiting global information and communications technology (ICT) developments.

It places Singapore as the best performer worldwide in a number of categories - quality of maths and science education, affordability of telephone connection charges, and government prioritization and procurement of ICT and furthermore gets extremely high scores in other areas such as affordability of internet access.

By contrast, the United States dropped to fifth place. However, this is not due to a fall in performance but an ever increasing improvement in innovation by its competitors. Moreover, it continues to be a world leader in the quality of its scientific research institutions and business schools and the existence of a well-developed venture capital market, which has spurred innovation.

With a total coverage of 104 economies worldwide and published for the fourth consecutive year, The Global Information Technology Report has emerged as the world's leading assessment of the impact of ICT on the development and competitiveness of nations. In line with the World Economic Forum's efforts to expand the geographical coverage of the report, five new countries from diverse regions of the world (Bahrain, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cyprus, Georgia and United Arab Emirates) have been included this year.

"Singapore is an excellent example of a country that has been able to make in a relatively short period of time enormous progress in putting ICT at the service of improved living standards. Singapore's experience highlights the increasingly central role played by technology as an engine of growth and competitiveness, even beyond the borders of the rich industrial countries," said Report co-editor Augusto Lopez-Claros, Director of the Global Competitiveness Programme at the World Economic Forum.

Below is a list of the highlights of the Results of the Networked Readiness Index Rankings 2004-2005.

• Nordic countries continue an impressive track record in the ICT area, with Iceland, Finland, Denmark and Sweden in second, third, fourth and sixth places respectively (and Norway a respectable 13th). Sweden, Finland and Denmark consistently outrank some of the larger European economies in terms of the number of patents registered per million population, a frequently used indicator of a nation's innovation record.
• Asia and the Pacific do extremely well this year with Hong Kong and Japan entering for the first time in the top 10, at 7 and 8 respectively, and Australia, Taiwan, quite well positioned at 11 and 15.
• India and China significantly improve their positions climbing to number 39 and 41, compared to 45 and 51 in 2003, respectively.
• Estonia leads the central and eastern European countries with a ranking at 25 out of 104, thanks to its excellent regulatory framework for ICT.
• The highest ranking Latin American country is Chile (35), well ahead of Brazil (46), Mexico (60) and Argentina (76).
• Also worth mentioning is the case of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) entering the rankings at 23. Notably, the UAE's first-rate performance seems to be led by a successful government strategy in promoting ICT penetration and usage.

Soumitra Dutta, Professor of Business and Technology and Dean of Executive Education at INSEAD, co-editor of the Report, explained: "The Networked Readiness Index (NRI) has evolved into an accepted global benchmark of an economy's preparation to participate in and benefit from information and communication technology developments. Beyond the mere provision of an annual international cross-section of networked readiness, the publication of the Report may also be seen as a vehicle whereby governments, businesses and individuals can assess progress on a regular basis."

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Source: Finfacts Business News