Taiwan has moved up one place this year to 10th in the world in terms of its readiness to use information and communications technology (ICT) to improve its competitiveness and the well-being of its citizens, the World Economic Forum (WEF) said in a report released on Wednesday.
Taiwan scored 5.47 out of 7 in the Networked Readiness Index (NRI) that is at the core of the Global Information Technology Report 2013.
The assessment was based on a broad range of indicators, ranging from Internet access and adult literacy to mobile phone subscriptions and the availability of venture capital. Indicators such as patent applications and e-government services were also used to evaluate the social and economic impact of digitization.
Taiwan excelled in the areas of mobile network coverage and Internet and telephony, ranking first among the 144 economies assessed. This helped put Taiwan in 10th place overall in the annual report. It was one of only two Asian countries to rank among the top 10 — Singapore placed second.
The index ranked 144 economies around the world based on their capacity to exploit the opportunities offered by the digital age, said the forum, which is based in Geneva, Switzerland.
The capacity is measured by the quality of the regulatory, business and innovation environments; the degree of preparedness; the actual usage of ICTs; and the societal and economic impact of ICTs.
The Nordic countries and the so-called Asian Tigers — Singapore, Taiwan, South Korea (11th) and Hong Kong (14th) — dominated the index thanks to their business-friendly approach, highly skilled populations and investments in infrastructure, among other strengths, the report said.
The top 10 in the NRI rankings were Finland, Singapore, Sweden, the Netherlands, Norway, Switzerland, the UK, Denmark, the US and Taiwan, in that order.
However, Taiwan is listed as Taiwan, China, in the report.
Additional reporting by staff writer
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