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Estonian Human Development Report

Estonian Human Development Report - Eesti Koostöö Kogu

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Table 5.3.1. Comparison of countries based on the<br />

Networked Readiness Index in 2007–2008 and the<br />

change in positions compared to 2006–2007<br />

Ranking<br />

2007–<br />

2008<br />

Networked<br />

readiness<br />

components<br />

Environment<br />

component<br />

Readiness<br />

component<br />

Country<br />

Table 5.3.2. The components of the Networked<br />

Readiness Index and Estonia’s relative position<br />

Estonia’s<br />

ranking<br />

24.<br />

23.<br />

Use component 8.<br />

Source: World Economic Forum 2008b<br />

Score<br />

2007–<br />

2008<br />

Ranking<br />

2006–<br />

2007<br />

Sub-index<br />

Estonia’s<br />

ranking<br />

Market environment 23.<br />

Political and regulatory<br />

environment<br />

Score<br />

2006–<br />

2007<br />

recent source on the Digital Opportunity Index is the report<br />

based on data from 2005/2006 and published in 2007. Here,<br />

too, the composite index is based on three clusters of indicators:<br />

Opportunities – accessibility and affordability; Infra-<br />

24.<br />

Infrastructure 24.<br />

Individual readiness 26.<br />

Business sector readiness 31.<br />

Government sector readiness 8.<br />

Individual use 11.<br />

Business sector use 23.<br />

Government sector use 2.<br />

Table 5.3.3. Components of the Digital Opportunity<br />

Index and Estonia’s results in 2006 and 2007<br />

2006 2006 2007 2007<br />

Opportunities 0.98 Digital Opportunity Opportunities 0.99 Digital Opportunity<br />

Infrastructure 0.47<br />

Index 0.63 (20 th place<br />

Infrastructure 0.50<br />

Index 0.65 (20 th place<br />

in the world and 11 th<br />

in the world and 14 th<br />

Utilization 0.44 place in Europe) Utilization 0.45 place in Europe)<br />

Sources: ITU 2007a and Pruulmann-Vengerfeldt, Vihalemm & Viia 2007<br />

Change<br />

1 Denmark 5.78 1 5.71 <br />

2 Sweden 5.72 2 5.66 <br />

3 Switzerland 5.53 5 5.58 <br />

4 USA 5.49 7 5.54 <br />

5 Singapore 5.49 3 5.60 <br />

6 Finland 5.47 4 5.59 <br />

7 The Netherlands 5.44 6 5.54 <br />

8 Iceland 5.44 8 5.50 <br />

9 Republic of Korea 5.43 19 5.14 <br />

10 Norway 5.38 10 5.42 <br />

19 Japan 5.14 14 5.27 <br />

20 Estonia 5.12 20 5.02 <br />

21 France 5.11 23 4.99 <br />

30 Slovenia 4.47 30 4.41 <br />

33 Lithuania 4.41 39 4.18 <br />

36 Czech Republic 4.33 34 4.28 <br />

37 Hungary 4.28 33 4.33 <br />

43 Slovakia 4.17 41 4.15 <br />

44 Latvia 4.14 42 4.13 <br />

61 Romania 3.86 55 3.80 <br />

62 Poland 3.81 58 3.69 <br />

68 Bulgaria 3.71 72 3.53 <br />

70 Ukraine 3.69 75 3.46 <br />

71 Kazakhstan 3.68 73 3.52 <br />

72 Russia 3.68 70 3.54 <br />

Source: World Economic Forum 2008b.<br />

structure – networks and means; Usage – implementation of<br />

ICT. According to the Digital Opportunity Index, the ideal<br />

set of opportunities would mean that the whole population<br />

of a country had easy access to affordable information and<br />

communication technologies, that all homes were equipped<br />

with ICT appliances, that all residents owned mobile ICT<br />

devices, and that everyone used broadband Internet. The<br />

index is presented on a scale of 0–1 and Estonia holds the<br />

24 th place with 0.65 points. Although Estonia’s ranking has<br />

not improved, the value of some of the component indexes<br />

has increased somewhat (Table 5.3.3.).<br />

In addition to the Digital Opportunity Index, ITU also<br />

compiles an ICT Opportunity Index which is more versatile<br />

than the previous index and analyzes a total of 183<br />

countries. The countries are categorized into four larger<br />

groups: countries with high, upper, medium, and low ICT<br />

Opportunity Index values. Estonia is the only post-socialist<br />

country with a high ICT Opportunity Index value,<br />

holding the 24 th position (with 269.81 index points) among<br />

the 29 countries that scored high on the index. Estonia has<br />

developed the most among the members of this group<br />

(after Barbados) during the period 2001–2005, gaining<br />

78.08 index points. Sweden is the leader in the ICT Opportunities<br />

Index rankings with 377.69 points, followed by<br />

Luxembourg (371.1 points), and Hong Kong (365.54).<br />

Estonia lags behind the leaders primarily in terms of the<br />

sub-indexes measuring networks and intensity (Table<br />

5.3.4.). In the case of some of these sub-indexes, Estonia’s<br />

index values are half those of other countries with high<br />

ICT use.<br />

An analysis of the international indexes shows that<br />

although we have been comparatively successful with<br />

regard to developing e-technologies, especially as a result<br />

of the efforts of the government sector, we have not been<br />

able to achieve the competitive edge hoped for when<br />

implementing these technologies. The main problems are<br />

related to the small size of markets, the lack of innovativeness<br />

in the business sector, and the complications inherent<br />

in the cooperation between the domain of education<br />

and research and the business sector. These findings are<br />

not particularly novel, however, and there has been much<br />

discussion in this context on the necessity of promoting<br />

technology and engineering education. These developments<br />

are related, in part, to the expectations of the <strong>Estonian</strong><br />

business elite and their potential for using information<br />

and communication technologies for increasing their<br />

efficiency, since the Digital Opportunity Index demonstrates<br />

that our position is relatively weaker in relation to<br />

the readiness and opportunities of the business sector.<br />

Estonia’s Internet users<br />

and spread of e-services<br />

The prevalence of Internet use and the accessibility of various<br />

technologies are seen as the primary factors influencing<br />

the development of digital opportunities and technology.<br />

The value of this approach is limited, however, in terms<br />

of helping us understand the extent to which different social<br />

groups benefit from using the Internet for the purpose of<br />

improving their quality of life. Figure 5.3.1. introduces the<br />

segment of this report devoted to providing a more detailed<br />

description of the typology of Estonia’s Internet users by<br />

giving an overview of the increase in the percentage of<br />

Internet users among <strong>Estonian</strong> residents aged 15–74.<br />

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