Estonia, S. Korea Top List of E-Ready Among Mid-Income Economies

04 May 2001

Estonia, S. Korea Top List of E-Ready Among Mid-Income Economies

Washington -- Estonia and South Korea are the most "e-ready" - farthest along in integrating the Internet into their societies -- of 53 mid-income economies, according to a report endorsed by the World Bank and United Nations.

The report summarizes what lower-income countries are doing to shrink the "digital divide" -- the gap between rich countries' increasing access to commerce, learning and society on the Internet and much less access in poorer countries. The world's largest economies plus Russia (G-8) want to eliminate the divide and established a digital opportunity taskforce (DOT force) in July 2000 to look at ways to do that.

Argentina, Brazil, Chile, China, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Jordan, Peru, Taiwan, United Arab Emirates, Venezuela and Vietnam also have "significant actions underway" to improve their e-readiness, according to the report.

"For developing countries, it is crucial that we take our place in the digital economy and not be left behind," said Ambassador Percy Mangoaela, Lesotho's ambassador to the United Nations (U.N.) and chairman of the U.N. Working Group on Informatics at a Washington press conference on the report. "This report shines a beacon on who is leading the way to full connectivity."

"Ready? Net. Go!: Partnerships Leading the Global Economy," released May 3, focuses on what countries are doing to expand their e-readiness and highlights examples from which other countries can learn.

E-readiness is "the essence of globalization," said the World Bank's Bruno Lanvin, executive secretary of the G-8 DOT force. The world's leading donor nations and the World Bank "recognize that information technology is a key component of economic growth and development," he said.

Economies were evaluated according to five attributes:

-- Connectivity: Affordable access to reliable networks is available to people at all levels of society throughout the country.

-- E-leadership: E-readiness is a government priority, and quality partnerships involving government, business and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) are promoting Internet access for all citizens.

-- Information security: Intellectual property rights and privacy are legally protected and a legal framework exists to prosecute computer crimes and authorize digital signatures.

-- Human capital: Enough people have the right skills to build a knowledge-based society.

-- E-business climate: National policies and financial systems support e-business.

Examples of e-readiness initiatives around the world were highlighted:

-- Korea has begun a five-year project to expand the country's fiber-optic network.

-- Estonia's cabinet conducts meetings online.

-- Brazil funded research to develop a low-cost personal computer for low-income people and is looking for a partner to build the product in Brazil.

-- High school graduates in Jordan will be required to be literate in English and computers.

-- Mexico is planning to connect all its hospitals via the Internet to allow healthcare practitioners in remote areas access to medical information.

The report was prepared by McConnell International consulting group in collaboration with the World Information Technology and Services Alliance. An initial report was published in August 2000. Both are available online at www.mcconnellinternational.com.

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