GENEVA, Switzerland, March 28 (UPI) -- Denmark leads the world in information technology, outranking last year's top-seated Singapore and seeming leader the United States.
That was the conclusion reached by the World Economic Forum, organizers of the Davos meetings, in its latest annual survey of global information technology.
The forum said that in light of its regulatory environment and clear government leadership as well as actual use of technology, Denmark was best-equipped in making full use of information technology, followed by Sweden, while Singapore came in third.
The United States came in seventh; with the exception of it and Singapore, all of the top 10 listed countries were in Western Europe.
Germany did not, however, make the 10 best list, as it ranked in at 16, while electronics-exporting giant Japan came in at 14. Among the Middle Eastern countries, Israel took the lead at 18th place, while Chile was the first among Latin American nations at 31. At the bottom of the list, ranked 122, was Chad.
Using information technology "is increasingly becoming an essential instrument for countries and national stakeholders to ensure continued prosperity for their people. Nordic countries have shown how an early focus on education, innovation and promotion of (information and computer technologies) penetration and diffusion is a winning strategy for increased networked readiness and competitiveness. Denmark, in particular, has benefited from very effective government e-leadership, reflected in early liberalization of the telecommunications sector, a first-rate regulatory framework and large availability of e-government services," said Irene Mia, a co-editor of the report.
