From No. 86 in 2013, the Philippines is now ranked 78 in terms of networked readiness in the World Economic Forum’s Global Information Technology Report 2014.
“Improving its position both within the ASEAN group and overall, the Philippines climbs eight places to reach the 78th position. With a significant improvement in its overall score, the country continues its positive trend,” says the WEF.
The WEF noted the scores of all the 10 networked readiness pillars register an increase. A significant improvement in the perceived efficiency in the country’s legal system and property rights protection drive the political and regulatory environment up to 87th place.
ICT readiness is the other area where the Philippines improved the most, thanks to a more affordable (75th) access to ICT infrastructure and better skills (69th), despite the need for higher quality in the educational system.
Business usage is, as in many other Asian economies, at a more advanced stage (43rd) than individual usage (91st).
Progress made in terms of economic impacts registered last year continues this year, moving up eight positions and reaching 48th place. The role of ICTs in fostering innovation by creating new products and services (42nd) and organizational models (28th) is confirmed and contributes to this promising result.
Singapore (2nd), Malaysia (30th), Brunei Darussalam (45th), Indonesia (64th), and Thailand (67th) came ahead of the Philippines in ASEAN in the networked readiness index rankings. The country is followed by Vietnam (84th), Cambodia (108th), Lao PDR (109th), and Myanmar (146th).