IfG.CC -
Institute for eGovernment

The European Commission has positively assessed the Austrian e-Government in the eGovernment Benchmark 2016, especially in the field of key technologies such as electronic identification (mobile phone signature) or electronic documents, reports the agency APA.

Austria belongs to the top-performing EU countries in e-Government, together with Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg. Austria was evaluated best in the category, such as user friendliness, cross-border availability and transparency of offered services. To compare, Malta was the only country to offer all public services online. In the online availability of public services, Austria and Portugal followed with 98 percent availability.

Margarete Schramböck is on the right course. According to a recent study on the e-government situation in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, Austria clearly holds the top position in the e-government country comparison.

According to the eGovernment Monitor 2018, around three quarters of all Austrians (74 percent) already use eGovernment services (compared to only 67 percent in 2012).

There is a word in Austrian German that seems to perfectly sum up the efficiency of your average bureaucrat: Amtsschimmel, a wondrous reference to the layer of mold-like dust collecting on government records. Or maybe, say others, the word derived from “simile” and the endless repetitive use of packaged phrases. Either way, the meaning is the same: Bureaucracy works slowly.

Azerbaijan has risen by 12 points in the E-Government Survey 2016 compiled by the UN, which is traditionally published every two years.

The country went up from 68th place to 56.

South Korea ranked first in the report, followed by the United States, and Canada.

Bahrain is the highest climber among Gulf nations in this year's rankings and over a three-year period, having gained 21 places since 2006.

INSEAD, an international business school, and the World Economic Forum, yesterday released the 12th annual Global Information Technology Report (GITR) with the support of Booz and Company and Cisco.

Three GCC countries rank in top five on government usage of information and communication technologies (ICT) - the UAE (two), Bahrain (four), Qatar (five), with Saudi Arabia following in sixth place.

The 2010 report stated that Bahrain’s government succeeded in developing their e-portal and diversifies their technical services, leading the Arab listings and place itself in the 13th slot on the global scale. Remarkably, they were able to move forward 29 slots in 2 years.

Bahrain has climbed 29 places from 42nd in 2008 in the survey, which considers e-Government development in the context of the overall economic and social development of a country. According to Shaikh Mohammed bin Essa Al Khalifa, Chief Executive of the Bahrain Economic Development Board (EDB), the ranking further demonstrates Bahrain’s commitment to achieving the ambitions of the country’s National Economic Strategy and Vision 2030; both are designed to encourage further private sector growth, support further diversification of the economy and ultimately elevate national living standards by creating greater opportunities for Bahrainis.

The International Internet Society, a non-profit organisation that sets standards and Internet policies in the world, has ranked Bahrain as 19th country in the world with the best Internet services.

The Kingdom’s classification was based on the feedback of the society’s branch in Bahrain, and the speed of its “Internet growth” in particular, as well as its reliability, sustainability and ability to meet the requirements of data preservation and exchange.

The Global Information Technology Report 2012 ranked 142 economies by examining the correlation between ICT readiness and economic growth.

In the Networked Readiness Index (NRI), Bahrain was ranked 27th globally and first in the Middle East and North Africa region, up three places on the previous year.

Deputy Premier HH Shaikh Mohammed bin Mubarak Al Khalifa the chairman of the Supreme Commission for Education and Training Development dispatched a message of thanks to the Minister of Education Dr. Majid bin Ali Al-Nuaimi on the occasion of the Kingdom of Bahrain's attaining this advanced position.

It is ranked below UAE (24th) and Qatar (25th), but came above Saudi Arabia (33rd) and Oman (41st), according to the Global Information Technology Report released by the World Economic Forum.

It said that Sweden and Singapore continue to top the rankings, while Finland jumped to third place, with Switzerland and the US in fourth and fifth place respectively.

TRA's Chairman and Acting General Director Dr. Mohammed Al Amer praised the industry achievement and said "This United Nations recognition is a direct result of the vision of HRH Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa the Crown Prince, the guidance of HE Shaikh Ahmed bin Ateyatala Al Khalifa Minister of Cabinet Affairs, Minster responsible for telecommunications sector and the dedicated work of TRA team in encouraging infrastructure investment that supports the delivery of wider range of telecommunications services. I would like to thank all licensed operators for their investment and for putting faith in us."

No other Arab country or Middle Eastern country has ever reached such high levels

It moved from 46th position in 2008 globally, according to the United Nations' e-Government Readiness report of 2010.

"Through the regulatory measures, we are aiming to achieve higher Internet reach to the public at affordable prices to enable them benefit from e-Government services and applications," TRA chairman and acting general-director Dr Mohammed Al Amer said.

Lithuania comes 40th out of 193 countries in the United Nations' Electronic Government Development Index 2018, dropping 17 positions, compared to 2016. Estonia leads among the Baltic states, coming in 16th with 0.8486 points, and Latvia is 57th with 0.6996 points.

Countries in all regions of the world are continuing to make strides in their efforts to improve e-government and to provide public services online according to a new report launched by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs. In a 2018 ranking of countries on e­government development, Denmark, Australia, and Republic of Korea came out on top of a group of 40 countries, scoring very high on an index (the E-Government Development Index – EGDI), which measures countries’ use of information and communications technologies to deliver public services. The Index captures the scope and quality of online services, status of telecommunication infrastructure and existing human capacity.

Bangladesh has been ranked 115th in the United Nations E-Government Survey 2018 among the 193 countries moving nine notches up from its previous 124th position in 2016.

According to the UN survey report, Bangladesh is the highest ranked least developed country (LDC), an official of Access to Information (a2i) programme told UNB on Sunday.

Bangladesh is moving slowly up in ICT advancement, ranking 113th in the "networked readiness index" this year among 142 countries.

In the previous three years, Bangladesh progressed from 130th to 118th to 115th, according to the Global Information Technology Report: Living in a Hyperconnected World, prepared by the World Economic Forum (WEF).