UAE is No.1 Arab country in UN’s 2020 Online Services Index

Our Correspondent

The UAE has been ranked first in the GCC, Arab, West Asia regions and eighth globally in the UN’s 2020 Online Services Index (OSI), an e-government survey conducted by the United Nations as part of E-Government Development Index said.
State news agency WAM reported that the country also ranked fourth in Asia in this index and has improved one place in the E-Participation Index when it achieved the 16th place; it was in the 17th position in the 2018 index.

It ranked 7th in the Telecommunication Infrastructure Index, the survey said. The survey’s latest session focused on the role of countries in serving the UN Sustainable Development Goals under the slogan “No One Left Behind”.

The UAE was ranked 21st in the overall rank globally, which is a composite index consisting of sub-indexes such as smart services, human capital, Telecommunication Infrastructure and information technology sector. The E-participation index falls within smart services.

HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, hailed the country’s strong result.

“The future belongs to those who excel digitally,” he said.

Commenting on the survey in a post on Twitter, Sheikh Mohammed said: “A while ago, the UN issued the E-government survey, which compares the smart services in 193 countries. Proudly, the UAE is the first in the Arab world, region and West Asia and the eighth globally in terms of e-Smart Services Index.”

The survey listed the UAE in the fourth position on the Asian level in e-Smart Services Index after Korea, Singapore and Kazakhstan; China and Japan share the fourth place with the UAE.

The survey, which compared the smart services in 193 countries around the world, supports their efforts to provide effective, accountable and inclusive digital services to all and bridge the digital divide leaving no one behind. It also looked at government strategies around the world for developing services, policies and programmes that benefit everyone.