U.S. Reclaims Title as Top IT Country

By Geoff Duncan March 28, 2006

The United States jumped four places to reclaim the top spot in the latest edition of the Networked Readiness Index from the World Economic Forum. Last year’s winner, Singapore, slipped to number two: the remaining top ten nations are Denmark, Iceland, Finland, Canada, Taiwan, Sweden, Switzerland, and the U.K.

“The Networked Readiness Index (NRI) has become a globally accepted benchmark of an economy’s participation in the networked economy. The NRI provides a useful indicator to decision leaders from the private and public sectors about the role of technology in driving the competitiveness and productivity of nations,” said Soumitra Dutta, Professor of Business and Technology and Dean of Executive Education at INSEAD.

The World Economic Forums’ Global Information Technology Report attempts to rank nations’ economies on the basis of their readiness to participate in (and benefit from) in the adoption and deployment of information and communications technologies (ICT). The index also considers the overall business and economic climate, government policy and regulation, the readiness of key stakeholders, and the current utilization of information technology among those stakeholders.

“Information and communication technologies presently represent one of the most important drivers in boosting efficiency and productivity in today’s fast changing global economy. The United States has been for many years an ICT powerhouse, and its sustained ability to harness these technologies so effectively for boosting the efficiency of its economy and its many markets provides a standard of measurement for other countries wishing to rapidly improve the living standards of their citizens,” said Augusto Lopez-Claros, Director of the Global Competitiveness Network at the World Economic Forum and co-editor of the Report.

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