The ranking slide -- from nine in 2003 to 11 in 2004 -- is announced in the latest edition of the World Economic Forum's (WEF) Global Technology Report, released overnight. The WEF bases its Network Readiness Index Rankings on assessments of the environment of a given nation for ICT development (such as the regulatory regime and the legal framework for ICT, the available infrastructure and other factors capturing elements of the market for technological development); the actual levels of networked readiness of individuals, businesses and governments and; the actual usage of ICT by these groups.
The United States dropped four places from number one and now sits behind Singapore and the Nordic countries of Iceland, Finland and Denmark.
The report placed Singapore as the best performer worldwide across a range of categories, including quality of maths and science education, affordability of telephone connection charges and government procurement and prioritisation of ICT. It also scored highly in other areas, including affordability of Internet access.
Hong Kong and Japan entered for the first time in the top 10, at seven and eight respectively. Australia sat at 15 in 2002.
The WEF surveyed 104 economies worldwide. This is the fourth year its ICT report has been published.
