Digital Ranking 2022



Figure 6: Average ranking positions by region in Overall Digital Competitiveness 2018-2022.

Looking at the differences between government cyber - security preparedness and the extent of e-government online services reveals discrepancies that signal potential exposure to cyber attacks. Regions with a high score in the E-government index but a low score in the Government cybersecurity capacity index could be considered more exposed to cyber-risks. After normalizing the two indices, we looked at the differences between the availability of e-government services and the government cybersecurity capacity of each region ( Figure 5 ). This exercise shows that regions like Ex-CIS and Central Asia, South America, Regional digital competitiveness levels are mostly stable in 2022 with few exceptions. Figure 6 presents the sub-re- gional overall digital competitiveness ranking trend for the years 2018 to 2022. Over the past year, North America and Eastern Europe have improved their levels of digitalization; Eastern Asia, Western Europe and Ex-CIS and Central Asia have fallen; while the other sub-regions remain relatively stagnant in their overall average positions. In North America, digital competitiveness levels rise from an average 24 th to 22 nd place, with Canada and Mexico’s improvements compensating for the USA’s loss of first place in the Ranking. Similarly, Eastern Europe’s average digital competitiveness position rises to 38 th (up two points from 2021). Eastern Asia remains at the top of the sub-regional rankings. However, the average digital competitiveness ranking of the economies in this area (China, Hong Kong SAR, Japan,

Eastern Europe, Western Europe and Southern Asia & the Pacific present relevant gaps between the extent of e-gov - ernment tools and the cybersecurity capacities of their governments. These results suggests that governments in these regions might be misallocating part of their resources by building comprehensive technological solutions for their citizens whilst simultaneously overlooking the security of their digital infrastructure.

3. Digital competitiveness trends at a regional level

Korean Republic and Taiwan, China) slides by two positions from 13 th to 15 th , marking a reversal of the positive trend that began in 2018. There are also disruptions to Western Europe’s positive competitiveness progression which started in 2019 but has now dropped to an average 21 st rank. The average digital competitiveness performance of Southern Asia & the Pacific, Western Asia and Africa and South American economies remains stable in 2022. Since 2019, however, digital competitiveness levels in the first two regions have fallen to an average 2022 place of 33 rd and 38 th respectively. South American economies, on average, continue their long-term trend, lagging behind in digitalization when compared to the rest of the world. Finally, Ex-CIS and Central Asian economies experience a downturn in their overall competitiveness, with an average position of 49 th .

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