United States tops leader board in Network Readiness Index 2024, Singapore and Finland take second and third spots

Regarding regional representation, Singapore and Korea are the only countries from Asia and the Pacific that appear in the top ten, while the United States is the sole representative from the Americas. The remaining top 10 positions underscore Europe’s dominance in global network readiness.

Notably, the small Island nation of the Seychelles has debuted in this year’s ranking, impressively placing second globally in mobile app development, though this result reflects both its strengths and the impact of GDP PPP scaling in smaller economies., the UAE comes first in the world for the price of its mobile handsets. New entries this year include Sierra Leone, Yemen and Trinidad and Tobago.

Professor Soumitra Dutta, Co-founder and President of Portulans Institute, co-editor of the NRI, and Dean of Saïd Business School, University of Oxford said: ‘As digital transformation accelerates, the NRI 2024 highlights the essential role of public-private partnerships in building the foundations for digital readiness. By working together, governments, businesses, and civil society can create robust frameworks of governance, stability, and trust that enable technology to reach its full potential in enhancing social and economic well-being. The findings emphasise the interdependence of policy, innovation, and societal impact, helping to chart a path towards a resilient digital ecosystem.’

The 2024 NRI rankings have seen Eswatini, Gambia, Guinea, Lebanon, and Tajikistan fall from the list. Year-to-year comparisons of NRI rankings can be influenced by data availability and updates in the NRI model framework.

The top performers in NRI 2024 underscore that advanced economies across Europe, the Americas, Asia, and the Pacific continue to excel in network readiness. Specifically, among the top 25 countries, Europe is represented by seventeen nations - predominantly the Western and Scandinavian regions. East and Southeast Asia contribute four economies - Singapore, South Korea, China, and Japan. Oceania is represented by Australia and New Zealand, and North America includes both Canada and the United States.

Middle- and low-income economies, notably China, Ukraine, Vietnam and Kenya, have significantly outperformed expectations in digital readiness, achieving scores that exceed their GDP per capita trendlines by at least 10%. Africa and Asia and Pacific lead regionally, with countries like Rwanda, Brazil, and Kyrgyzstan also displaying a notable performance. The lower middle-income group shows the largest concentration of high performers, highlighting its prominent role in this ongoing digital evolution.

China notably moves up in the rankings, securing the 17th spot and remaining the only middle-income economy in the NRI’s top 20 due to its formidable technological prowess.

In terms of income distribution within the 2024 rankings, 52 countries are high-income economies, 36 are upper-middle-income economies, 32 are lower-middle-income economies, and 13 are low-income economies.

The top performers in the NRI consistently display three significant trends: they are primarily high-income nations, they exhibit strong network readiness across all dimensions, and are in the Western or Scandinavian parts of Europe, albeit few exceptions like Singapore, the Republic of Korea, and the United States of America – that leads this year global table for the third consecutive year.   

Reflecting on this year’s NRI, Bruno Lanvin, co-editor of NRI, said: ‘Data is not the new oil. It is the new air. In all parts of the world, both the private and public sector strive to be ready for a global digital economy that is neither fully charted nor consistently governed yet. In such a fluid context, tools like the Network Readiness Index, which provide definitive metrics, will be a necessary condition to make the right decisions.’

Amazon Web Services (AWS) is a Knowledge Partner for the NRI and has provided research showing how the successful adoption of cloud technology is a key marker for digital readiness and has a positive impact on innovation and the economy at large.

Jeffrey B Kratz, Vice President, Worldwide Public Sector Industry Sales, AWS said: ‘At AWS, we've witnessed first-hand the transformative power of partnerships between the public and private sector, and building a digital tomorrow requires not just technological advancements, but also a shared vision and commitment to global collaboration” said Jeff Kratz, Vice President of Worldwide Public Sector Industry Sales at AWS. “By continuing to invest in these partnerships and fostering a global ecosystem of innovation, we can ensure that the benefits of digital transformation are realised by all, creating a more connected, efficient, and equitable world.’

Thank you to all of those who joined us for the event, either in-person or online.