PH slips a notch in WEF tech index

The Philippines slipped one notch to 77th out of 139 economies assessed by the World Economic Forum (WEF) for their ability to maximize information and communication technologies.

Last year, the Philippines placed 76th out of 143 economies covered by the Global Information Technology Report, which is based on the Networked Readiness Index (NRI).

The 2016 report showed that the Philippines got the lowest ranking in the Readiness subindex at 92nd place, from a ranking of 85th last year, due to limits to available infrastructure and affordability.

The country also slipped in the Environment category—which measures the political and business regulatory environment—to 89th this year from 84th in 2015.

On the other hand, the Philippines got the highest ranking in the Impact subindex, where it placed 62nd, like last year, due to the positive economic and social impact of ICT use.

The country also improved its ranking in the Usage subindex—or how ICT is used by individuals, firms and government—going up to 66th from 74th in 2015.

Globally, Singapore continued to top the overall ranking of network-ready countries, followed by Finland, Sweden, Norway, the United States, Netherlands, Switzerland, United Kingdom, Luxembourg and Japan.