Of the 102 economies studied by the Institute of Business in collaboration with the World Economic Forum (INSEAD) and the World Bank, The Bahamas failed to make the list.
English-speaking countries in the region Trinidad and Tobago and Jamaica were listed 52 and 53 respectively. Both CARICOM countries rank behind Brazil, Chile, Mexico, Costa Rica, Argentina and Santo Domingo.
The Global Information Technology Report has become the world’s leading assessment of the impact of information technology on the development of economies. 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.
Professor Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum said that the use and application of ICT remains one of the most powerful engines for economic growth.
“ICT” he maintained, “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.”
Venezuela, Guatemala and Haiti ranked 72nd, 86th and 100th respectively. A comparison of the Networked Readiness Index scores over the last three years shows that the Digital Divide between most developed and least developed economies is narrowing.
The United States topped the rankings this year of the Networked Readiness Index 2003. This was 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 eight 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 boast some of 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 the 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 percent and 309 percent respectively.
Among the 25 African countries included in the Index rankings, South Africa is the first, positioned in the 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.
The Bahama Journal
