Indonesia's global e-government ranking jumped 13 places

Indonesia jumped 13 places from 77th to 64th out of 193 countries in the E-Government 2024 Survey released by the United Nations Department for Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA) in New York, on September 17. 

Indonesia has improved its information and communications technology (ICT) infrastructure and expanded digital literacy programmes to improve access to e-government services, the report said.    

In this year's report, the e-government development index (EGDI) of all ASEAN members made significant progress.  

Indonesia, Vietnam, the Philippines and Brunei Darussalam moved up from the high EGDI group to the very high EGDI group, joining Thailand and Malaysia who were already there.   

This reflects success in strengthening digital infrastructure, expanding internet connectivity and implementing robust digital governance frameworks, the report said.    

Myanmar and Cambodia managed to move up from the middle EGDI group to the high EGDI group, while Laos and Timor Leste remained in the middle EGDI group.  

Singapore is the only ASEAN country in the highest EGDI group, having moved up from 7th place in 2022 to 3rd place in 2024, continuing its trend of being a leading digital government player globally.The report commended the government’s adoption of the commercial cloud, artificial intelligence (AI), and a zero-trust approach to cybersecurity, as well as its digital leadership. 

The biennial report measures a country's performance in providing digital services, human resources and ICT infrastructure. The report provides insights for governments around the world to achieve the sustainable development goals (SDGs) by 2030.  

The EGDI measures three important dimensions of e-government, namely: provision of online services, telecommunication connectivity and human capacity. 

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Global EGDI trend improving 

UNDESA's Head of Digital Governance, Vincenzo Aquaro, said at a press conference on September 17 that the global EGDI trend is improving, with 17 countries transitioning to the highest EGDI group, and the number of very high EGDI countries increasing to 76 (39 per cent) out of 193 countries.  

At the regional level, Europe continued to lead, followed by Asia, Oceania and Africa. Asia experienced the highest growth of 7.7 per cent followed by Africa at 4.8 per cent.  

"This collective momentum underscores Asia's emerging leadership, led not only by historical digital leaders such as Korea and Singapore, but also by some key country groups such as countries in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) as well as countries in Central Asia," said Aquaro.  

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Addressing the digital divide  

UNDESA's Assistant Secretary-General for Economic Development, Navid Hanif, highlighted that while digital governance is making significant progress around the world, there are still 1.37 billion people who are “on the wrong side” of the digital divide, particularly least developed countries, landlocked countries and small island states.

"Our vision is that they should get the technology they need, mobilise financing, build infrastructure and provide affordable access," Hanif said during a press conference Q&A.  

For the first time, this year's report also tracks the digital literacy skills people need to effectively access government digital services and introduces a new indicator in the IT assessment - affordable internet access.  

UNDESA is also advancing a proposal for a Digital Government Model Framework that aims to reduce costs, increase inclusion, investment, and foster citizen engagement.   

"Digitalisation is not an option. You have to pursue it and start with e-government. This will make improvements that will touch all aspects of the SDGs," Hanif added.  

The report also explores the increasingly promising use of AI in digital governance and the importance of equitable, transparent and accountable AI management. 

Read other article on UN's e-government survey 2024 here