The UAE and Qatar have moved five places up in the world of Network Readiness Index (NRI), according to a Global Information 
Technology Report by Insead, the leading international business school and the World Economic Forum.
NRI, which is published annually, measures the preparedness of an economy to use ICT to boost competitiveness and well-being and tracks the development of ICTs around the world. The report assesses the digital ecosystems of 144 developed and developing countries — accounting for more than 98 per cent of the world’s GDP. The report ranks three Gulf countries in the top 30 list globally for the second consecutive year, and another two in the top 40: Qatar (23), the UAE (25), Bahrain (29), Saudi Arabia (31) and Oman (40).
In contrast, countries in the Levant and North Africa still lag behind and face challenges to fully leverage ICT. Jordan ranked (47), Egypt (80), Morocco (89), Lebanon (94) and Algeria (131).
“Overall, the MENA region shows stability, both in rankings and scores. However, the dynamics within the region seem to confirm that regional leaders keep moving ahead: Qatar and the UAE both moved up five ranks, reaching 23rd and 25th rank overall respectively, and Saudi Arabia continued its own move upward (also gaining three ranks, to reach 31st place)”, said Bruno Lanvin, GITR co-editor and Executive Director of INSEAD European Competitiveness Initiative (IECI).
“As part of the UAE’s long-term strategy to diversify its economy, the government has continued to drive the development of the ICT industry decisively and to expand the use of ICTs to all segments of the economy and society (1st). Available government online services (9th), the online participation of citizens (11th) and the important rise in mobile broadband subscriptions (49th), have driven this rise in the rankings. However, the UAE needs to continue on this positive trajectory and expedite digitization efforts to climb the ranks and remain a competitive global ICT player”, said Miguel Lobo, Associate Professor of Decision Sciences, Director of the Abu Dhabi campus.
