Singapore, Hong Kong, Estonia and Japan have been named some of the ‘stand out’ nations in the newly released Digital Evolution Index (DEI) 2017.
The executive summary of the report said: “The DEI 2017 is a data-driven holistic evaluation of the progress of the digital economy across 60 countries, combining more than 100 different indicators across four key drivers: supply conditions, demand conditions, institutional environment, and innovation and change.”
Compiled by Mastercard and the Fletcher School at Tufts University, the index assessed progress in digital and connectivity across 60 countries. It split the markets into four categories: stand out, stall out, watch out and break out.
The UK and New Zealand were also in the stand out category. While nations including South Korea and Australia fell into stall out; Russia and China into break out; and South Africa Greece into watch out.
“Adoption, the quality of digital infrastructure and institutions, and innovation collectively shape a country’s digital competitiveness, but governments also play a key role. The report also found that consumers’ trust in digital technologies correlates with digital competitiveness,” said Bhaskar Chakravorti, senior associate dean of international business & finance at The Fletcher School at Tufts University, and founding executive director of Fletcher’s Institute for Business in the Global Context.
