Portugal delays step in eGovernment

The United Nations has already published preliminary data from its 2010 report on the development of e-Government services in the world, which show a drop of eight positions in Portugal in the table compared to 2008 data. The final report, finished in December 2009, should be published in the coming days.

The index measures the use of new technologies by governments in relation to citizens, a special challenge in a year of crisis, as the introduction to the report admits. However, the presentation mentions the existence of significant advances, especially in countries that are in the middle of the table of the 192 referenced states, but also in the poorest, where creative uses of mobile networks can make a difference in the provision of services and information to the population.

According to the data already available, Portugal falls to 39th place, when in 2008 it had placed 31st in the general classification. For the analysis, the components of online services, communications infrastructure and human capital are important.

In specific indicators, such as the assessment of online services and telecommunications infrastructures, the country appears in the worst position, 50th and 43rd in the ranking, and is also 45th in terms of e-participation.

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Korea is the big winner of this analysis, having jumped from 6th to the first position in the index, followed by the United States, Canada, United Kingdom and Holland in the top 5. The traditional dominance of Scandinavian countries in this ranking is now questioned by Asian country that has invested heavily in this component.

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In the ranking Sweden is precisely one of the big losers, having lost 9 positions and falling from the first to the tenth place, but there are still no explanations to support this abrupt drop.