Denmark was crowned as the global IT king by the World Economic Forum Wednesday, topping the organisation's 2006-2007 rankings as the most network ready nation.
The forum's Network Readiness Index measures countries' IT competitiveness and how prepared they are to 'participate in and benefit from internet and communication technology (ICT) developments'. Denmark stole the top seat from the US, which fell six places to number seven.
Irene Mia, senior economist for the Global Competitiveness Network, said that the Nordic countries' focus on education, innovation and promotion of ICT has been a winning formula.
'Denmark in particular has benefited from very effective government e-leadership, reflected in early liberalisation of the telecommunications sector, a first-rate regulatory framework and large availability of e-government services.'
Denmark's climb to the top of the network readiness rankings was not unforeseen, as the country had been creeping up in the rankings the past few years, finishing fourth in 2004 and third in 2005.
'The government is naturally happy to be lauded for our efforts and vision for digitalisation and internet availability to citizens and businesses, as well as our liberalisation and regulation of telecommunications,' said the science minister, Helge Sander. 'For critics of the government's input in those areas, the report should be mandatory reading.'
Denmark also scored well in the two other areas of focus for the forum's latest report - gender equality and overall global competitiveness - placing eighth and fourth, respectively.
The World Economic Forum is an independent organisation founded in 1971 and supervised by the Swiss government. Its annual reports are considered by both top economists and national governments to be a leading source for measuring countries' developments.
Quelle/Source: Danmark, 29.03.2007
