THE FIRST ATTEMPT to rank countries by how much benefit they get from the world wide web has placed Ireland 10th.
Looking at how the web works for 61 different countries and their citizens, the web index found that Ireland outpaces all other countries in the Index in terms of the Web’s effects on its economy: Between 2007and 2010, Information Computer Technology service exports accounted for 14.8 per cent of GDP —”exponentially ahead of any other nation”. Switzerland, Sweden, the UK and Canada followed.
However, it found that the political impact of the Web in Ireland is substantially lower than any of the countries in the top 10, ranking below nations including Chile, Colombia and Egypt. According to the index, there was significant scope for the government to “increase the extent to which it uses the Web to engage and interact with citizens.”
One in three people use the internet globally, and fewer than one in six in Africa, is also found.
The index, which has been publicly backed by web inventor Tim Berners-Lee, found that the web works best for people in Sweden. Six of the top ten countries were European, although not all western economies dominated it. Berners-Lee singled out Italy for the lack of impact the web has made there.
“In Italy the attitude is that people don’t automatically turn to the Web, so relative to where it would be on GDP ranking, it is quite low on the Web Index.”
Italy ranks 23rd, below Qatar and Mexico.
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