United States retains top spot for Network Readiness for third consecutive year, with Trinidad and Tobago making its inaugural entry

United States retains top spot for Network Readiness for third consecutive year, with Trinidad and Tobago making its inaugural entry

The United States (US) remains the world leader in its access to, and use of, information and communications technology (ICT), the 2024 Network Readiness Index (NRI) published by Portulans Institute and Saïd Business School at the University of Oxford, has shown.

The NRI is one of the leading global indices on the application and impact of ICT in economies across the world. In this latest version, ‘Building a Digital Tomorrow: Public-Private Investments and Global Collaboration for Digital Readiness’, the NRI Report maps the network-based readiness landscape of 133 economies on their performances in four different dimensions: Technology, People, Governance, and Impact, with each pillar comprised of three sub-pillars, and a further 54 variables.

The US maintains its leading position for the third consecutive year and is the only nation from The Americas to feature in the top ten. It registered an exceptional performance across technology adoption and innovation metrics, particularly excelling in areas like AI development and digital business transformation.
The US’ main strength relates to Technology (1st) showcasing top performance in Internet access in schools, AI scientific publications, Investment in emerging technologies, and computer software spending. Its greatest scope for improvement, meanwhile, concerns areas related to Impact (11th), including ICT services exports (58th). The strongest showings of the US include Content (1st), Future Technologies (1st), and Businesses (1st). Opportunities to further enhance the US performances are noted in SDG Contribution (29th) and Quality of Life (73rd) sub-pillars.

Professor Soumitra Dutta, Co-founder and President of Portulans Institute, Co-editor of the NRI, and Dean of Saïd Business School, University of Oxford said:
‘As digital transformation accelerates, the NRI 2024 highlights the essential role of public- private partnerships in building the foundations for digital readiness. By working together, governments, businesses, and civil society can create robust frameworks of governance, stability, and trust that enable technology to reach its full potential in enhancing social and economic well-being. The findings emphasize the interdependence of policy, innovation, and societal impact, helping to chart a path towards a resilient digital ecosystem.’

Twenty-two countries from the region were represented overall. Canada features in 11th place, Brazil in 44th and Costa Rica, Uruguay and Chile placing in 52nd, 53rd and 54th respectively. Notable movers with reduced rankings include Peru (83rd), and Jamaica (93rd), which saw the most significant shifts in the region. While these changes reflect performance, they also account for necessary model adjustments, missing data, and the relative performance of other economies. Trinidad and Tobago were a new entry at 106th.
In the Americas, five economies show high performance in digital readiness as compared to their income level, with Brazil excelling in Technology and Governance, and Costa Rica, Honduras, and Nicaragua showing strong results in Impact.

Canada maintains a strong stance in digital readiness with balanced achievements across all four dimensions of digital readiness. The country demonstrates exceptional strength in the adoption of emerging technologies by Businesses (3rd), generation of high-quality digital Content (6th) and performs robustly in adoption and investment in Future technologies (12th).

While Canada's digital infrastructure is highly developed, there is potential for improvement in the area of Access (33rd) where strong showings in affordable Handset prices (14th) are slightly offset by relatively low rankings in Mobile Tariffs (53rd) and Population coverage by 3G (45th). Canada’s noteworthy accomplishments include strong standings in the Governance space (12th), with particularly impressive levels of Cybersecurity (13th) and Regulatory quality (9th) effectively translating to high levels of Trust (11th) in digital technologies.

Positioned at 44th globally and third in The Americas, Brazil demonstrates moderate digital development, with consistent showings across all four sub-pillars. The country boasts notable strengths in the People pillar (49th), where balanced showings in digitally engaged Governments (47th) and Businesses (37th) are somewhat offset by weaker results in adoption of digital technologies by Individuals (83rd). Brazil exhibits impressive performance in domestic market scale (8th) and E-participation (11th). It ranks notably high in Government online services (14th) but lags in the Government promotion of emerging technologies (82nd) and ICT skills in the education system (106th).

Reflecting on this year’s NRI, Bruno Lanvin, co-editor of NRI, said:
‘Data is not the new oil. It is the new air. In all parts of the world, both the private and public sector strive to be ready for a global digital economy that is neither fully charted nor consistently governed yet. In such a fluid context, tools like the Network Readiness Index, which provide definitive metrics, will be a necessary condition to make the right decisions.’

Ricardo Alban, President of Knowledge Partner Brazilian National Confederation of Industry adds:
‘As the Brazilian Industry System, we recognize digital readiness as a strategic imperative. We actively engage in public-private partnerships, such as the Brasil Mais Produtivo program, implemented by SENAI and the Brazilian government. This program assesses companies' digital readiness and provides financial support for the adoption and development of digital technologies. Such initiatives could be benchmarked for global implementation with support from developed countries and international organizations.’

The top performers in the NRI consistently display three significant trends: they are primarily high-income nations, they exhibit strong network readiness across all dimensions, and the European countries continue to maintain a strong presence. These patterns are evident in the NRI 2024 rankings, where each of the top 10 countries secures a position within the top 25 across the four main pillars: Technology, People, Governance, and Impact.

ENDS

Notes to editors:
The Network Readiness Index
Origins of the NRI: Initially launched in 2002 by the World Economic Forum, the NRI has been redesigned in 2019 by its founders and co-editors, Soumitra Dutta and Bruno Lanvin, to reflect how technology and people need to be integrated within an effective governance structure in order to have the right impact on our economy, society and the environment. This 2024 edition marks the sixth edition of the redesigned model of the NRI.

The NRI model recognises the pervasiveness of digital technologies in today’s networked world and therefore rests on four fundamental dimensions: Technology, People, Governance, and Impact. This holistic approach means that the NRI covers issues ranging from future technologies such as AI and Internet of Things (IoT) to the role of digital transformation in reaching the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

About the NRI: The 2024 NRI is the sixth edition of a renewed NRI model, and it ranks a total of 133 economies based on their performance across 54 variables.

The 2023 edition of the NRI is published in partnership with Amazon Web Services (AWS) and the Brazilian National Confederation of Industry (CNI)

About Portulans Institute (PI): Founded in 2019 by Soumitra Dutta and Bruno Lanvin, Portulans Institute is an independent nonprofit, nonpartisan research and educational institute based in Washington DC. PI’s areas of expertise include technology competitiveness, innovation readiness, and global talent.
Learn more at https://portulansinstitute.org/.

About Saïd Business School: Saïd Business School at the University of Oxford is a vibrant and innovative business school, embedded within a 900-year-old world leading university. We create programmes and ideas that have global impact and reach. We educate leaders, change makers and innovators across every industry and sector. Our groundbreaking research and exceptional teaching transforms individuals, who transform businesses, which transforms the world. We create ïmpact from within. www.sbs.ox.ac.uk

Contacts for Press: Portulans Institute: info@portulansinstitute.org
For further information, including interview requests, please contact rosy.cobb@sbs.ox.ac.uk, media manager at Saïd Business School.