The Philippines ranked fairly in the various Information and Communications Technology (ICT) indices released by international groups. The Philippines received better rankings in e-Government Readiness at 41/191, Network Readiness (70/115), ICT Diffusion (97/180) and Digital Opportunity (94/180), but ranked poorly in e-Readiness at 51/65.

The poor ranking of the Philippines in the e-Readiness index can be attributed to the low connectivity in terms of broadband and wireless internet penetration, and low PC penetration.  Moreover, the slow adoption of e-business practices among consumers and businesses contributed to its poor ranking. On the other hand, the Philippines performed relatively well in terms of the quality of infrastructure, openness to trade and investment, vision regarding digital-age advances and high educational level.

Table 1. Rank of ASEAN Countries in Selected ICT indices

Compared to its ASEAN neighbors, the Philippines ranked in the middle in most of the ICT indices. It ranked 3rd in e-Government Readiness and 5th in both the ICT Diffusion and Digital Opportunity indices among the 10 ASEAN countries. But it ranked poorly at 5/7 in terms of Network Readiness and 4/6 in terms of e-Readiness.  Generally, the ICT scenario in the country was better than the situation in Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao P.D.R., Myanmar and Viet Nam. However, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and Brunei Darussalam performed better than the Philippines in most of the ICT indices.

Figure 1. Rank of Philippines in Selected ICT Indices

International ICT indices are developed to measure the overall performance of ICT within a country for comparison with other countries. Following are the indices and the corresponding institutions that spearhead its development: 1)  Network Readiness Index, constructed by the World Economic Forum (WEF), measures the degree of preparation of a nation to participate in and benefit from ICT developments; 2) e-Government Readiness Index, prepared by the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA), ascertains how ready the Governments around the world are in employing the opportunities offered by ICT to improve the access to, and the use of, ICTs in providing basic social services; 3) ICT Diffusion Index by the UN Conference  on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) measures the ICT achievements in a country in terms of connectivity and access;  4) Digital Opportunity Index (DOI) by the International Telecommunication Unit (ITU), UNCTAD and Korea Agency for Digital Opportunity (KADO) assesses the progress of a country in creating digital opportunity and bridging the digital divide; and 5) e-Readiness Index of the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) assesses the countries ability to promote and support digital business and ICT services and measure the extent to which a market is conducive to Internet-based opportunities.

Table 2. Selected ICT Indices

Sources of basic information: WEF, UNDESA, UNCTAD, ITU, EIU