US Falls to Fifth in Top Networked Nations

Singapore has replaced the US as the top network-ready economy, according to the World Economic Forum's latest Global Information Technology Report.

The US fell from first to fifth in the ranking of network readiness. Singapore, Iceland, Finland and Denmark occupy the first through fourth positions respectively. The US had been number one for the past three years. Last year, Singapore was number two.

"Singapore's remarkable performance," the report says, "is a consequence of the government's consistent and continuous efforts in fostering [information communications technology] penetration and usage, as well as the quality of the country's educational system and its able use of foreign technology." The report added that the decline of the United States' ranking is "less due to actual erosion in performance with respect to its past history and more to continuing improvements by its competitors."

This report coincides with recent concerns raised by the tech lobbying group TechNet that the US risks losing its technical edge. However, the US still leads in the business readiness subcategory.

According to the full list of 104 countries, Sweden, Hong Kong, Japan, Switzerland and Canada round out the top 10 network-ready nations. Bangladesh, Angola, Ethiopia, Nicaragua and Chad occupy the bottom slots.

Source: Forbes.com