6. eReadiness

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A modest boost for Ireland’s reputation in the international competitiveness stakes comes courtesy of a new league table plotting countries’ eReadiness. This is a measure developed by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) which rates the quality of a country’s information and communications technology (ICT) and how consumers, businesses and government exploit it.

Ireland’s 2009 score puts it in 18th place among the 70 countries analysed, placing it towards the top of the second of the six bands plotted on this map. The 7.84 score out of a possible 10 means a jump from 21st place recorded in 2008. Overall, the trends worldwide have been downwards, due to the worldwide economic crisis. Ireland can take some consolation that the drop in its score (0.2) was less than the average of 0.27.
A higher mark was awarded to Ireland for improvements in connectivity and technology, driven by better broadband and internet usage. Our foreign policy got top marks, but marks were lost under other headings such as the business and macroeconomic environments, market opportunities and finances.

The UK and other leading economies got a more serious drubbing from the EIU. The UK’s ranking slipped from 8 to 13, for instance, while the US is ranked 5th, losing its top slot to Denmark.

Source: Economist Intelligence Unit, eReadiness rankings, June 2009. Scores are marked out of 10

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