Print Download PDF Embed

News Release

China Ranks 36th and Leads BRIC Economies in Global Information Technology Report Ranking

Kai Bucher, Associate Director, Communications, Tel.: +1 212 703 2377, kai.bucher@weforum.org

Arabic I Español I Français I Deutsch I Português I 中文

  • The 10th edition of The Global Information Technology Report 2010-2011, Transformations 2.0 launched today, with a special focus on ICT as a catalyst for change and new data sharing platform
  • China ranks 36th out of 138 economies covered by the study, ahead of India (48th) and Brazil (56th)
  • Sweden retains top position, followed by Singapore, Finland, Switzerland and the United States
  • Full report, data sharing platform and more, including video interview with Alan Marcus, Senior Director, Information Technology and Telecommunications, World Economic Forum, at: http://www.weforum.org/gitr


Visit: The Great Transformation, Explore the impact of technology on societyRead: The Global Information Technology Report 2010-2011

 

New York - China climbs to 36th position in the rankings of The Global Information Technology Report 2010-2011, Transformation 2.0, released today by the World Economic Forum. Sweden (1st) and Singapore (2nd) continue to top the rankings. The Nordic countries and Asian Tigers confirm their leadership in adopting and implementing ICT advances for increased growth and development. Finland jumps to third place, while Switzerland and the United States are steady in fourth and fifth place respectively. The 10th anniversary edition of the report focuses on ICT’s power to transform society in the next decade through modernization and innovation.

The Global Information Technology Report 2010-2011

Since 2006, China has leapfrogged 23 positions and is among the 10 most improved countries over five years. The government recognizes the importance of ICT and innovation for the development of the country. Businesses are relatively quick to adopt new technologies and have developed a taste for innovation. The use of ICT by the population is also increasing rapidly, but remains relatively low because of the sheer size of the country.

With a record coverage of 138 economies worldwide, the report remains the world’s most comprehensive and authoritative international assessment of the impact of ICT on the development process and the competitiveness of nations. The Networked Readiness Index (NRI), featured in the report, examines how prepared countries are to use ICT effectively on three dimensions: the general business, regulatory and infrastructure environment for ICT; the readiness of the three key societal actors - individuals, businesses and governments - to use and benefit from ICT; and their actual usage of available ICT.

Network Readiness Index 2010-2011 - Top TenUnder the theme Transformations 2.0, this 10th anniversary edition explores the coming transformations powered by ICT, with a focus on the impact they will have on individuals, businesses, and governments over the next few years. Since the beginning of the report, the sheer amount of information generated by today’s digital society has increased at an astounding rate. In order to measure impact of ICT and this new data revolution, a new data sharing platform is also launched on the occasion of the report’s 10th anniversary to provide users with a set of tools to explore the impact of information and data technology on a range of socio-economic areas. The platform uses DevInfo’s database system and features a unique data visualization tool developed by public relations agency RuderFinn.

“ICT, and the Internet in particular, have changed the world dramatically, and all indications point to an even higher rate of transformation of our lives going forward,” said Soumitra Dutta, Roland Berger Professor of Business and Technology at INSEAD and co-editor of the report. “As the Global Information Technology Report series enters its second decade, we hope it will continue to provide policy makers and decision leaders from both the public and private sectors a unique reference and tool to address the challenges and opportunities brought about by the transformations 2.0.”

“Innovation and ICT have proven a crucial lever for long-term growth, with countless social and economic benefits and the capacity to significantly improve people’s life around the world,” said Alan Marcus, Senior Director and Head of Information Technology and Telecommunications, World Economic Forum. “Countries fully integrating new technologies and leveraging the new data revolution in their development and growth strategies, are laying the foundations for competitive, resilient economies for the future.”

The report is a project within the framework of the World Economic Forum’s Centre for Global Competitiveness and Performance and the Industry Partnership Programme for Information Technology and Telecommunications Industries. It is the result of a collaboration between the World Economic Forum and INSEAD, the leading international business school.

The Networked Readiness Index uses a combination of data from publicly available sources, as well as the results of the Executive Opinion Survey, a comprehensive annual survey conducted by the World Economic Forum with its network of partner institutes (leading research institutes and business organizations) in the countries included in the report. This survey of over 15,000 executives provides unique data on many qualitative dimensions important to assess national networked readiness.

The presentation of the NRI rankings is followed by contributions by academics and industry experts, exploring the transformations 2.0, including the emerging Internet economy, communities to be built around digital highways, ICT growing impact on poverty reduction, localization 2.0, and the potential of mobile banking in the emerging world, among others. Furthermore, four deep-dive studies on selected national/regional experiences in leveraging ICT for increased competitiveness are included: Costa Rica, Saudi Arabia, as well as broadband approaches and developments in the European Union and United States.

The report contains detailed country profiles for the 138 economies featured in the study, providing a snapshot of each economy’s level of ICT penetration and usage. Also included is an extensive section of data tables for the 71 indicators used in the computation of the Index.

The editors of the report are Soumitra Dutta, Roland Berger Professor of Business and Technology, INSEAD, France, and Irene Mia, Director and Senior Economist, Centre for Global Competitiveness and Performance, World Economic Forum.

Global Information Technology Report 2010–2011

 

Notes to Editors

The World Economic Forum is an independent international organization committed to improving the state of the world by engaging business, political, academic and other leaders of society to shape global, regional and industry agendas.

Incorporated as a not-for-profit foundation in 1971 and headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, the Forum is tied to no political, partisan or national interests (www.weforum.org).