Australia, Singapore and Sweden top new Technological Readiness Ranking from The EIU

Government investment will drive a broad-based improvement in countries’ tech-readiness in the next five years, is the key finding of Preparing for disruption: Technological Readiness Ranking, a report released today (June 5th) by The Economist Intelligence Unit. Spending on e-government, cyber-security and a robust e-commerce environment will increasingly be seen as a policy priority. This report builds on the success of The EIU’s long-running Business Environment Ranking, which measures the attractiveness of 82 of the world’s largest economies as investment locations.

The EIU’s new ranking focuses on how future-oriented these 82 business environments are. It assesses eight indicators across three categories:

• Access to the internet, which looks at internet usage and mobile phone subscriptions.
• Digital economy infrastructure, looking at e-commerce, e-government and cyber-security.
• Openness to innovation, exploring international patents, research and development (R&D) spending, and the research infrastructure.

Emily Mansfield, Country Forecast Director at The Economist Intelligence Unit, said: “Technological change is inescapable, and how well prepared governments, businesses and individuals are for disruption is increasingly important. The US will climb sharply in our ranking in the coming years as internet access improves, and will remain the world leader for innovation clusters and new patents. Meanwhile the UK’s position will decline, reflecting comparatively low R&D spending—a key contributor to productivity growth—and inadequate investment in cyber-security.”

Download the full report at: http://www.eiu.com/technological-readiness

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About The Economist Intelligence Unit

The Economist Intelligence Unit (The EIU) is the world’s leading resource for economic and business research, forecasting and analysis. It provides accurate and impartial intelligence for companies, government agencies, financial institutions and academic organisations around the globe, inspiring business leaders to act with confidence since 1946. The EIU products include its flagship Country Reports service, providing political and economic analysis for 189 countries, and a portfolio of subscription-based data and forecasting services.  The company also undertakes bespoke research and analysis projects on individual markets and business sectors. More information is available at http://www.eiu.com

The EIU is headquartered in London, UK, with offices in more than 40 cities and a network of some 750 country experts and analysts worldwide. It operates independently as the business-to-business arm of The Economist Group, the leading source of analysis on international business and world affairs.