ECONOMY
AZERBAIJAN LEADS CIS IN WEF RANKING FOR NETWORKED READINESS
Baku, March 30 (АzerTAc). The World Economic Forum`s (WEF) Networked Readiness Index placed Azerbaijan 64th, above all CIS member countries, according to the WEF Global Information Technology Report 2009-2010
The report says, “within the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), Azerbaijan (64th) leads the way. It is now the only CIS member in the top half of the overall NRI rankings”.
With an extensive coverage of 133 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.
Sweden tops the rankings of the Global Information Technology Report 2009-2010. The country is followed by Singapore and Denmark, which was in the number one position for the last three years. Switzerland (4), the United States (5) and the other Nordic countries together with the Canada, Hong Kong and the Netherlands complete the top 10.
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 stakeholder groups in a society individuals, businesses and governments to use and benefit from ICT; and the actual usage of the latest information and communication technologies available.
Azerbaijan entered top 30 countries in terms of how government is prepared to use ICT (Azerbaijan is 38th for Government prioritization of ICT, 16th for Gov’t procurement of advanced technology products, and 40th for Importance of ICT to gov’t vision of the future).
WEF experts assessed the level of government`s readiness to use ICT. Azerbaijan was placed 30th for government success in ICT promotion, 54th for ICT use and government efficiency, 31st for presence of ICT in government agencies, 56th for internet access in schools.