Denmark and Sweden once again lead the rankings of The Global Information Technology Report 2008-2009, released for the eighth consecutive year by the World Economic Forum. The United States follows suit, up one position from last year, thus confirming its pre-eminence in networked readiness in the current times of economic slowdown. Singapore (4), Switzerland (5) and the other Nordic countries together with the Netherlands and Canada complete the top 10.
The Report underlines that good education fundamentals and high levels of technological readiness and innovation are essential engines of growth needed to overcome the current economic crisis. Under the theme “Mobility in a Networked World”, this year’s Report places a particular focus on the relationship and interrelations between mobility and ICT.
With record coverage of 134 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 Report is produced by the World Economic Forum in cooperation with INSEAD, the leading international business school, and is sponsored by Cisco Systems.
The Networked Readiness - 2008/2009 - Rankings
| Rankings 2008-2009 Top Ten |
| |||||||
Comparison: Denmark (1) x Brazil (59 out 134)
| Variable | Denmark | Brazil |
| Venture capital availability | 4.71 | 2.87 |
| Financial market sophistication | 6.32 | 5.97 |
| Availability of latest technologies | 6.51 | 4.83 |
| State of cluster development | 4.86 | 3.91 |
| Utility patents (hard data) | 71.06 | 0.47 |
| High-tech exports (hard data) | 12.65 | 6.11 |
| Burden of government regulation | 3.83 | 1.87 |
| Extent and effect of taxation | 2.51 | 1.70 |
| Total tax rate (hard data) | 29.90 | 69.40 |
| Time required to start a business (hard data) | 6.00 | 152.00 |
| Number of procedures required to start a business (hard data) | 4.00 | 18.00 |
| Intensity of local competition | 5.58 | 5.29 |
| Freedom of the press | 6.90 | 6.02 |
| Accessibility of digital content | 6.30 | 4.72 |
| Effectiveness of law-making bodies | 6.02 | 2.38 |
| Laws relating to ICT | 6.08 | 4.18 |
| Judicial independence | 6.52 | 3.81 |
| Intellectual property protection | 6.22 | 3.27 |
| Efficiency of legal framework for disputes | 6.30 | 3.00 |
| Property rights | 6.64 | 4.58 |
| Quality of competition in the ISP sector | 5.55 | 4.69 |
| Number of procedures to enforce a contract (hard data) | 34.00 | 45.00 |
| Time to enforce a contract (hard data) | 380.00 | 616.00 |
| Telephone lines (hard data) | 51.89 | 20.54 |
| Secure Internet servers (hard data) | 805.31 | 20.13 |
| Electricity production (hard data) | 6697.77 | 2157.20 |
| Availability of scientists and engineers | 5.31 | 4.41 |
| Quality of scientific research institutions | 5.64 | 4.33 |
| Tertiary education enrollment (hard data) | 79.94 | 25.48 |
| Education expenditure (hard data) | 8.14 | 4.29 |
| Quality of math and science education | 5.09 | 2.71 |
| Quality of the educational system | 5.81 | 2.70 |
| Internet access in schools | 6.16 | 3.39 |
| Buyer sophistication | 5.07 | 3.62 |
| Residential telephone connection charge (hard data) | 0.33 | 0.50 |
| Residential monthly telephone subscription (hard data) | 0.50 | 4.01 |
| High-speed monthly broadband subscription (hard data) | 1.58 | 20.21 |
| Lowest cost of broadband (hard data) | 0.08 | 0.42 |
| Cost of mobile telephone call (hard data) | 0.00 | 0.37 |
| Extent of staff training | 5.85 | 4.30 |
| Local availability of specialized research and training services | 5.77 | 4.86 |
| Quality of management schools | 5.63 | 4.24 |
| Company spending on R&D | 5.62 | 3.87 |
| University-industry research collaboration | 5.30 | 3.55 |
| Business telephone connection charge (hard data) | 0.33 | 0.50 |
| Business monthly telephone subscription (hard data) | 0.50 | 6.49 |
| Local supplier quality | 5.92 | 5.14 |
| Local supplier quantity | 5.51 | 5.53 |
| Computer | 34.84 | 45.63 |
| Government prioritization of ICT | 6.23 | 4.13 |
| Government procurement of advanced technology products | 4.54 | 3.39 |
| Importance of ICT to government vision of the future | 5.65 | 3.99 |
| E-Government Readiness Index (hard data) | 0.91 | 0.57 |
| Mobile telephone subscribers (hard data) | 114.71 | 63.08 |
| Personal computers (hard data) | 72.75 | 16.09 |
| Broadband Internet subscribers (hard data) | 36.33 | 4.22 |
| Internet users (hard data) | 64.31 | 26.07 |
| Internet bandwidth (hard data) | 346.02 | 1.50 |
| Prevalence of foreign technology licensing | 6.09 | 4.90 |
| Firm-level technology absorption | 6.20 | 5.25 |
| Capacity for innovation | 5.52 | 4.02 |
| Availability of new telephone lines | 6.89 | 6.18 |
| Extent of business Internet use | 6.04 | 4.94 |
| Government success in ICT promotion | 5.58 | 4.15 |
| Availability of government online services | 6.18 | 5.21 |
| ICT use and government efficiency | 5.92 | 4.59 |
| Presence of ICT in government offices | 6.18 | 4.68 |
| E-Participation Index (hard data) | 0.93 | 0.45 |
