This year begins the second decade of the Economist Intelligence
Unit’s annual benchmarking study of countries’ digital development,
previously known as the “e-readiness rankings”. Given the prevalence of
Internet-connected consumers, businesses and governments, and the
indispensable role that digital communications and services now play in
most of the world’s economies, we believe that the countries in our
study have achieved, to one degree or another, a state of e-readiness.
The study’s new title, the “digital economy rankings”, captures the
challenge of maximising the use of information and communications
technology (ICT) that countries face in the years ahead.
As ICT adapts to changing needs over time, so too do the indicators used in the benchmarking model which underpins our rankings. The addition of new indicators on the "quality" of broadband and mobile connections has affected the fortunes of top-ranked economies: many in Europe and North America suffered a decline in their absolute scores and their positions in the table, as we found the availability of ultra-high speed networks to be in considerable need of development. By contrast, those economies that have invested heavily in the next generation of Internet infrastructure saw their scores—and rankings—rise, notably Asian countries such as Taiwan, South Korea and Japan.
Download the briefing paper
Digital economy rankings 2010: Beyond e-readiness
free of charge [PDF 577 KB].
