Denmark has dropped out of the top ten on the prestigious ‘Networked Readiness Index’ that measures the ability of nations to exploit the opportunities offered by information technology.
As part of the annual Global Information Technology Report (here in English) composed by the international think-tank World Economic Forum, the index ranked Denmark 13th in the world, while its Scandinavian brethren Finland, Sweden and Norway were all in the top five.
Just a few years ago Denmark was top of the rankings, but fell to fourth in 2012, eighth last year and out of the top ten this year – a trend that is worrying IT industry organisation IT-Branchen.
“It’s a distressing development,” Morten Bangsgaard, the head of IT-Branchen, told Berlingske newspaper.
“Digitalisation is essential to generate growth and jobs. It is critical that we are able to maintain a position among the leaders in the world.”
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Platform is there
Denmark is still ranked in the top three in the world when it comes to computer access, having an internet connection at home and internet use in general, but according to the report, it is primarily a deterioration of the business arena that is the reason behind Denmark’s drop.
“We should be concerned,” Bangsgaard said. “But we have a strong platform for returning to the world’s elite. Danes are among the best in the world at using IT in their daily lives.”
Finland remained top of the ranking for the second year in a row, followed by Singapore, Sweden, the Netherlands and Norway. The top ten was rounded off by Switzerland, the USA, Hong Kong, the UK and South Korea.
