Nordic Countries Lead Way in Networked Economy
According to the World Economic Forum’s Global Information Technology Report, the Nordic countries account for four of the six most networked economies in the world. The USA slip down to fifth (from first), being replaced at the top by Singapore, while the UK come in at number 12 (up from 15).
Leading Nations:
1. Singapore
2. Iceland
3. Finland
4. Denmark
5. US
6. Sweden
7. Hong Kong
8. Japan
9.Switzerland
10.Canada
11.Australia
12.United Kingdom
13.Norway
14.Germany
15.Taiwan
There’s an interview with the Chief Economist and Director of the WEF Global Competitiveness Programme, Augusto Lopez-Claros, on the site too, in which he says:
The Nordic countries again top the rankings this year, with Iceland, Finland, Denmark and Sweden in the second, third, fourth and sixth place respectively. Iceland, in particular, recorded an impressive ICT performance, climbing from 10th position in 2003 to second out of 104 economies in 2004, which represents the greatest improvement among the top performers.
Such a development does not come as a surprise as Nordic countries have consistently shown very high ICT penetration and usage rates and come out among the top performers over the last four years.
Besides having an excellent macroeconomic, regulatory and infrastructure environment, those countries share a commitment by their governments, business communities and households to ICT use. In addition, they are constantly innovating.
As a result, Sweden, Finland and Denmark outrank some of the larger European economies in the number of US patents registered per million population, a frequently used indicator of a nation’s innovation record.
