Singapore loses to Finland in IT readiness survey

It's still struggling for affordable ICTs.

According to a news release, despite efforts in the past decade to improve information and communications technologies (ICT) infrastructure in developing economies, there remains a new digital divide in how countries harness ICT to deliver competitiveness and well-being. This is just one of the key findings in the 12th edition of The Global Information Technology Report, released today by the World Economic Forum.

Published under the theme, Growth and Jobs in a Hyperconnected World, the Report suggests that national policies in some developing economies are failing to translate ICT investment into tangible benefits in terms of competitiveness, development and employment.

This is in addition to the profound digital divide that already exists between advanced and developing economies in access to digital infrastructure and content.

The Report’s Networked Readiness Index (NRI), which measures the capacity of 144 economies to leverage ICT for growth and well-being, finds Finland (1st), Singapore (2nd) and Sweden (3rd) take the top three places. The Netherlands (4th), Norway (5th), Switzerland (6th), the United Kingdom (7th), Denmark (8th), the United States (9th), and Taiwan, China (10th) complete the top 10.

Singapore remains 2nd overall, while slightly improving its score. The city-state ranks 1st in a record four pillars, while Finland leads only two. Singapore shows the way in the environment subindex, earning the top spot in both the political and regulatory environment pillar and the business and innovation environment pillar.

The extreme efficiency and business friendliness of its institutional framework, strong intellectual property protection, intense competition, and high university enrollment rate lead to these outstanding outcomes.

Singapore’s readiness (11th) is also world class, thanks to its excellent digital infrastructure (19th) and skill base (2nd). The affordability of ICTs (55th) is Singapore’s only relative weakness.

Within such a conducive environment, it is not surprising to see Singapore in 3rd position in terms of ICT usage. Among other things, the city boasts the world’s largest number of mobile broadband subscriptions per capita, above 100 percent. 

Furthermore, it leads the government usage pillar and outperforms the Nordics, including Finland. Within this pillar, Singapore achieves the maximum possible score on the UN’s Government Online Services Index.

Finally, it ranks 1st on the indicator capturing the importance of ICTs for government and 4th in assessing the success of latter in promoting ICTs. In this context, it comes as no surprise that Singapore leads the impact subindex, appearing in the top 10 of each of the eight comprising indicators. 

The BRICS’ economies, and notably China (58th, down seven), continue to lag behind in the rankings. The sustained rapid economic growth of past years in some of these countries may be in jeopardy unless the right investments are made in ICT, skills and innovation.

“This analysis shows how matching investments in ICT with investment in skills and innovation can help economies cross a ‘magic threshold’, beyond which return on investment increases significantly,” said Bruno Lanvin, Executive Director, e-Lab, INSEAD and co-editor of the report.

“Individual countries need to identify what separates them from reaching that threshold if they have not reached it yet in order to fulfil long-term growth, competitiveness and innovation targets” he added.