IMD World Digital Competitiveness Ranking 2020

Preface

We are pleased and proud to present the IMD World Digital Competitiveness Ranking (WDCR) for 2020. The fourth edition of this ranking comes at a very challenging time for the world. Since the beginning of the year, every aspect of our lives has been affected by the pandemic. Technology has been incorporated to address the pandemic in different dimensions from communication to monitoring, assessing and, hopefully in the non- distant future, finding a cure for the virus. WDCR measures the capacity and readiness of 63 economies to adopt and explore digital technologies for economic and social transformation. The ranking relies on three factors: Knowledge, which captures the intangible infrastructure necessary for the learning and discovery dimensions of technology; Technology, which quantifies the landscape of developing digital technologies; and Future Readiness, that examines the level of preparedness of an economy to assume its digital transformation. For most countries the responses of our survey were acquired during the first wave of COVID-19. To be clear, the questions we ask do not refer specifically to issues related to the pandemic. Still, if technology is the most important tool in our battle against the pandemic, some of the trends we identify have an added significance. And the trends follow past observations. The role of knowledge generation and talent development in combination with effective regulation and infrastructure, continue to drive digital competitiveness. Furthermore, the flexibility and adaptability of not only enterprises but of individuals as well sustain the digital progress of countries. An undertaking like the IMD World Digital Competitiveness Ranking could not have been accomplished without the support and assistance of many stakeholders. Our Partner Institutes , the IMD Alumni community and our Panel of Experts from all the countries generously offer data and insights that are crucial for completing such a project. We are fortunate and honored for their continuous collaboration. Yet, this year, they miraculously managed to make us feel that it was business as usual and not a uniquely complicated and difficult environment. The reason you have this publication in your hands now is, to a great extent, due to our stakeholders. We are humbled and thankful!

Professor Arturo Bris Director IMD World Competitiveness Center

Dr Christos Cabolis Chief Economist & Head of Operations IMD World Competitiveness Center

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IMD WORLD DIGITAL COMPETITIVENESS RANKING 2020