In this article I would like to examine the worldwide trend toward the digitalization of governments. According to a 2022 United Nations study, there is a positive trend in e-government development at the global level. Many countries have shown progress, moving from low levels of e-government development to higher levels. This demonstrates the growing adoption of modern technologies and improved accessibility of public services to the population.
EGDI (Global E-Government Development Index) – a composite index that characterizes the level
of e-government development in the countries of the world. It includes averages of three components: Online Services Index (OSI), Telecommunications Infrastructure Index (TII) and Human Capital Index (HCI).
The 2022 study reflects improving global trends in e-Government development and the transition of many countries to higher EGDI scores. Thus, in 2022, 60 countries have very high EGDI values; in 2020, 57 countries have an increase of 5.3%. A total of 73 countries have high EGDI values (between 0.50 to 0.75), and 53 countries are in the group with medium EGDI values (with values between 0.25 and 0.50). Seven countries (one less than in 2020) have EGDI values between 0.00 and 0.25.
Upper middle-income countries have high OSI, TII and HCI and are likely to make rapid progress in e-government development in the coming years, while a decline in OSI or HCI values for low-income and lower-middle-income countries may mean a deepening digital divide.
Of the 99 UN Member States with above-average EGDI values, almost 90% are in the high-income or upper-middle-income group, but the remaining 10% are lower-middle-income countries (Plurinational State of Bolivia, Indonesia, Islamic Republic of Iran, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Tunisia, Ukraine, Uzbekistan and Vietnam); 10 of these countries (all except the Plurinational State of Bolivia) also have OSI values above average. Five other countries in the low-income group have EGDI values below average, but their average OSI values are higher: Bangladesh (0.6521), Egypt (0.5730), India (0.7934), Kenya (0.6821), and Pakistan (0.5658). These examples show that while income level in a country matters, it is not the only factor that determines EGDI or OSI values.
EGDI values tend to be higher for higher-income countries than for lower-income countries. Nevertheless, many countries have achieved high and very high levels within e-government development largely by improving the delivery of their online services (expressed in OSI terms) despite limited resources.
