Saudi Arabia has been ranked 41st out of 193 countries relating to the level of its e-government infrastructure development, the United Nations' Department of Economic and Social Affairs said in its "E-Government Survey 2012" report released recently. Saudi Arabia advanced 17 positions from its rank of 58th in 2010. The report is released every two years and determines the ranking of countries based on online services available, telecommunications infrastructure, and human capital. Due to Saudi Arabia's large jump from 58 to 41, it is now among the top 25 emerging e-government leaders. In addition, it is highlighted as one of the countries that made the most progress over the past two years. The top five countries in the 2012 e-government development index are South Korea, the Netherlands, the UK, Denmark, and the US. Saudi Arabia is a regional e-government leader, following only the UAE. and Bahrain, and its individual component indexes are all well above the global average. Saudi Arabia has also been identified as a whole-of-government top performer, noting the overall commitment of the Saudi government and its focus on developing a system that incorporates all aspects of the government. The majority of countries do not utilize multiple channels to deliver services, such as traditional channels, free access to services via internet kiosks or WiFi, and mobile applications. However, Saudi Arabia is one of only seven countries to provide all of the following services: SMS text notification, dedicated mobile government websites, mobile applications, and payment by mobile phone. Saudi Arabia has also been active with promoting its services using social media. It is one of 78 countries that have a "Follow Us" link for Facebook or Twitter and among the 14 that provide a chat feature on government websites. The Saudi e-government portal, www.saudi.gov.sa, provides both citizens and businesses with a single location to access a range of information and services. Among the various services offered is the ability to apply for professional licenses; download government forms; renew work licenses; apply for education programs; pay utilities, education, and business fees; and submit comments and queries to government agencies. The Saudi government also offers an Open Document Initiative through the portal, which provides users with informational documents and reports from government agencies. The goal of the e-portal is to increase productivity and efficiency, encourage public participation, solicit public opinion, and provide services in a way that is focused more on the individual. The 2012 Survey finds that member states have begun to move from a decentralized single-purpose organization model of e-government to an integrated unified whole-of-government model for the people. This approach supports the strengthening of institutional linkages with interconnected departments and divisions; greater efficiency and effectiveness of governance systems; and better public service delivery. However, the efforts of countries at all levels of development are still affected by a lack of integration of administrative simplification with e-government development plans, lack of infrastructure and human resource capacity and a gap between e-services supply and demand. Low-income countries, in particular, continue to contend with traditional barriers to ICT investment such as lack of technical skills, high costs of technology, and ineffective government regulation. The United Nations E-Government Survey 2012 finds that many have put in place e-government initiatives and information and communication technologies applications for the people to further enhance public sector efficiencies and streamline governance systems to support sustainable development. Among the e-government leaders, innovative technology solutions have gained special recognition as the means to revitalize lagging economic and social sectors. The overall conclusion that emerges from the 2012 Survey in today's recessionary world climate is that while it is important to continue with service delivery, governments must increasingly begin to rethink in terms of e-government - and e-governance - placing greater emphasis on institutional linkages between and among the tiered government structures in a bid to create synergy for inclusive sustainable development.
