The world's developing and emerging economies are failing to exploit the potential of information and communications technologies (ICTs) to drive social and economic transformation and catch up with more advanced nations, according to the World Economic Forum's “Global Information Technology Report 2015.” Data from the report's Networked Readiness Index (NRI), which measures 143 economies in terms of their capacity to prepare for, use and leverage ICTs, suggest that the gap between the best and worst performing economies is widening. Those in the top 10 percent have seen twice the level of improvement since 2012 as those in the bottom 10 percent. This demonstrates 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 own a mobile phone. The 2015 edition of the NRI ranks Singapore as the top country in the world when it comes to leveraging ICTs for social and economic impact. The city state replaces Finland, which had been number one since 2013, and is joined in the top 10 by one other Asian nation, Japan, which climbs an impressive six places year-on-year to 10th position. Occupying the third slot behind Finland is Sweden. The highest-placed G7 economy is the United States (7th), followed by the United Kingdom (8th). Germany, the world's fourth-largest economy, ranks 13th, down one place on last year. Saudi Arabia is ranked 35th, down three places from last year. “Many other countries that have improved their NRI ranking over the last decade or so are now facing stagnation or regression. 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 Bruno Lanvin, Executive Director of INSEAD's European Competitiveness Initiative (IECI) and Global Indices projects and co-editor of the report. “The report shows that the digital divide across nations is increasing and this is of great concern, given the relentless pace of technological development. Less developed nations risk being left further behind and concrete actions are needed urgently to address this,” said Soumitra Dutta, Anne and Elmer Lindseth Dean at the Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management at Cornell University and co-editor of the report. With high-income economies predictably occupying the top 30 places, the report does identify a number of countries that have made considerable improvements, both in terms of their index score and ranking. Among those punching above their weight are Armenia (58th) and Georgia (60th), which are among the most improved nations since 2012. Outside of the Caucasus, the UAE (23rd), El Salvador (80th), Macedonia FYR (47th), Mauritius (45th) and Latvia (33rd) all improved markedly during the same period. “Mobile telephones may be becoming ubiquitous around the world, but the ICT revolution will not be carried over voice or SMS. Without better access to affordable internet, a huge proportion of the global population will continue to live in digital poverty, missing out on the enormous social and economic benefits that the ICTs represent,” said Thierry Geiger, Senior Economist, World Economic Forum and co-editor of the report.
