12.09.2003 ET

(CSRwire) Geneva, Switzerland – With total coverage of 102 economies worldwide and produced for the third consecutive year, The Global Information Technology Report has become the world’s leading assessment of the impact of information technology on the development of economies. The Report is produced by the World Economic Forum in cooperation with INSEAD and the World Bank’s infoDev. A key part of the Report, the Networked Readiness Index (NRI), measures how prepared each economy is to participate in and benefit from information and communication technology (ICT) developments.

“The use and application of ICT remain one of the most powerful engines for economic growth. ICT also continues to be the best hope for developing countries to accelerate the development process. More than ever, we must all intensify our efforts to enable individuals, businesses and governments to benefit more fully from the use and application of ICT,” said Professor Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum.

Under the theme “Towards a More Equitable Society,” The Global Information Technology Report is released at a time when ICT is widely recognized as a key driver of the process of economic and social growth of both industrialized and emerging economies. More importantly, ICT continues to provide considerable prospects in the development process of less-developed countries. Therefore, in keeping with the theme, special efforts were made to increase the coverage this year to include 20 more developing countries, mainly from sub-Saharan Africa.

“It used to be a common view that information technology and poverty reduction were at the two opposite ends of the spectrum of development policies. This year’s Global Information Technology Report shows that not only have some of the less developed economies started to take advantage of the ICT revolution, but also that networked readiness can be a very powerful tool to fight poverty,” said Bruno Lanvin, Programme Manager of infoDev at the World Bank.

The Networked Readiness Index examines the readiness of economies according to three dimensions: the general macroeconomic and regulatory environment for ICT, the readiness of the three key stakeholders - individuals, businesses and governments -to use and benefit from ICT, and their current usage of ICT.

Soumitra Dutta, Professor of Business and Technology at INSEAD, explained: “The Index is designed to assess the success of economies in terms of ICT development and usage and thereby provide a unique and valuable benchmarking tool for policy-makers, business leaders and other stakeholders in society to determine a nation’s strengths and weaknesses with respect to ICT and to evaluate its progress on a continual basis.”

Highlights of the Results of the Networked Readiness Index 2003

• The United States tops the rankings this year of the Networked Readiness Index 2003. This is primarily due to its superior ranking in the usage of ICT by businesses and the government. The country also remains the most innovative in the world, which has allowed it to maintain its leadership in the rankings over the last three years.
  
• Reflecting the success of its public-private partnerships to promote ICT penetration and usage, Singapore holds second place in this year’s Index. This compares to its eighth position two years ago.
  
• Nordic countries continue to outperform in the rankings, with Finland, Sweden and Denmark in third, fourth and fifth places respectively. These countries post among the highest ICT penetration rates, which have buoyed them to places within the top ten in the rankings over the last three years.
  
• Following Singapore in Asia are Japan in 12th place, Taiwan in 17th place, Hong Kong SAR in 18th place, Korea in 20th place and Malaysia in 26th place. India and China are ranked 45th and 51st respectively.
  
• Estonia is the leader of eastern European countries with a rank of 25. Its performance is enhanced by an excellent political and regulatory framework for ICT.
  
• Chile (ranked 32nd) and Brazil (ranked 39th) post the highest rankings among Latin American countries. Chile and Brazil are both notable for having demonstrated rapid growth in the number of Internet users over the last three years, increasing 472% and 309% respectively.
  
• Among the 25 African countries included in the Index rankings, South Africa is first, positioned in 37th place overall, boosted by a favourable political and regulatory environment. Succeeding South Africa in the region are Tunisia (ranked 40th), Mauritius (ranked 43rd) and Botswana (ranked 55th).
  
• Among emerging markets, Israel’s performance is noteworthy, posting a rank of 16 overall; its ranking is enhanced by outstanding scores in the availability of scientists and engineers, the quality of scientific research institutions and the availability of venture capital.
  
• A comparison of the Networked Readiness Index scores over the last three years shows that the Digital Divide between the most developed and least developed economies is narrowing. This is encouraging news for key ICT stakeholders in less developed economies.
  
  The Global Information Technology Report 2003-2004 consists of three main parts: the first part presents several analytical chapters related to networked readiness, as well as a detailed case study on Finland’s success in leveraging ICT for economic development; the second part contains 102 detailed country profiles providing a snapshot of a country’s level of ICT development; and the third consists of data tables with country rankings for each variable that enters the Index as well as a comprehensive section providing statistics on key indicators collected from a wide range of official sources relevant to the study.
  
  The Report is published by Oxford University Press and edited by Soumitra Dutta of INSEAD, Bruno Lanvin of the World Bank’s infoDev and Fiona Paua of the World Economic Forum.
  
  Should you require further specific information about the Report, please contact public.affairs@weforum.org or gcp@weforum.org.
  
  General information on The Global Information Technology Report 2003-2004 and other similar publications by the World Economic Forum is available at http://www.weforum.org/gitr.
  
  The World Economic Forum is an independent international organization committed to improving the state of the world. The Forum provides a collaborative framework for the world's leaders to address global issues, engaging particularly its corporate members in global citizenship.
  
  Incorporated as a foundation, and based in Geneva, Switzerland, the World Economic Forum is impartial and not-for-profit; it is tied to no political, partisan or national interests. The Forum has NGO consultative status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations.
  
  

  For more information please contact:

  Mark Adams, Head of Media , World Economic Forum
  +41 (0)22 869 1212
  

  
  
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