PH advances in e-gov’t rankings

The Philippines ranked 95th out of 193 member states assessed in the e-government development index (EGDI) survey by the United Nations, signifying that the country has made significant advancements in its “e-government.”

Based on the UN E-Government Survey 2014, the Philippines was categorized to be in the “Middle EGDI” together with 73 other countries. There are, meanwhile, 25 countries ranked to have very high EGDI, led by Republic of Korea and Australia; 62 countries with high EGDI; and 32 countries with low EGDI.

Countries in the high EGDI and middle EGDI categories, which include the Philippines, are seen to have “considerable opportunity” to advance their e-government development by, among others, investing in primary, secondary and tertiary education.

Produced every two years, the UN E-Government Survey 2014 was completed in January 2014 and launched in June 2014.

It is the only report in the world that assesses the e-government development status of the 193 UN member states and serves as a tool for decision-makers to identify their areas of strength and challenges in e-government and to guide e-government policies and strategies.

The UN defines e-government as the “use and application of information technologies in public administration to streamline and integrate workflows and processes, to effectively manage data and information, enhance public service delivery, as well as expand communication channels for engagement and empowerment of people.”

The government, for its part, has set up an online portal on public-private partner-ship to attract private partners to invest not only in traditional infrastructure projects but also in non-traditional infrastructure and development sectors.