WEF report shows Singapore leading in using ICTs

Singapore is leading the world in using information and communications technologies (ICTs) to drive social and economic development, according to the World Economic Forum's Global Information Technology Report 2015, published Wednesday in Geneva.

The city state replaces Finland at the top of the report's annual Networked Readiness Index (NRI), which assesses 143 economies in terms of their capacity to prepare for, use and leverage ICTs.

The only other Asian nation among the top 10 is Japan, which climbs six places year-on-year to the 10th position.

The report said the picture throughout the rest of Asia reflects the widespread digital poverty that persists in the region, with two-thirds of the countries falling in the bottom half of the ranking. Only Malaysia stands out at the 32nd, while Mongolia at the 61st, Sri Lanka at the 65th and Thailand at the 67th.

The report demonstrated the scale of the challenge facing developing and emerging nations as they seek to develop the infrastructure, institutions and skills needed to reap the full benefits of ICTs, as only 39 percent of the global population enjoys access to the Internet despite the fact that more than half now owns a mobile phone.

The report noted Russia is the highest placed BRICS nation, climbing nine places in 2015 to the 41st, while China remains at the 62nd.

The ranks of all other members of the group have declined, with South Africa to the 75th, down five; followed by Brazil to the 84th, down 15; and India to the 89th, down six.

"The example of the BRICS is not unique: many other countries that have improved their NRI ranking over the last decade or so are now facing stagnation or regression," said Bruno Lanvin, executive director of the European Institute of Business Administration's Global Indices projects.

"This is partly down to persisting divides within countries between rural and urban areas and across income groups which is resulting in large portions of the population being left out of the digital economy," said Lanvin.

With high-income economies predictably occupying the top 30 places, the report does identify a number of countries that have made considerable improvements, such as Armenia, Georgia at the 60th place and Kazakhstan at the 40th, both in terms of their index score and ranking by implementing targeted reforms.

Since 2001, the NRI assesses annually the factors, policies and institutions that enable a country to leverage ICTs for shared prosperity. Endi