Press Release
December 2021
Waseda University Institute of D-Government
International Academy of CIO

16th Waseda University-IAC World
Digital Government Ranking 2021 Survey

Introduction
The Institute of Digital Government at Waseda University in Japan, in cooperation with
the International Academy of CIO (IAC) has released the 16th Waseda IAC World Digital
Government Rankings Survey 2021, which marks digital transformation in 64
countries/economies. The Institute was established in 2002, and the ranking survey model
was created in 2005 by Prof. Dr. Toshio Obi, a Founder of the Institute and President of IAC
at the time of the First Ranking Survey. Dr. Obi was awarded a spot on “The World’s Most
Influential 100 People in Digital Government in 2018” by “Apolitical”,a UK based Thinktank. In 2021, both the Institute and the ranking survey

are mainly managed by Prof.

Dr. Naoko Iwasaki of Waseda University.
We hope this survey will be able to contribute excellent values globally to all parties
concerned. We have now unfortunately suffered from the serious COVID-19 pandemic allover the world for a couple of years, and we are sure that Digital Government can offer
effective solutions regarding the pandemic issues. It is well noted that this edition isextremely significant in the process of promoting SDGs. In addition , the 16th memorial
anniversary ranking report is well associated with both digital innovation and1transformation.
We appreciate Research Fellows headed by Dr.Hien

at APEC Digital Government

Research Center for their great contribution as well as Researchers of the Institute of Digital
Government at Waseda University and International experts in 11 worldwide universities
of IAC listed in the contributors corner.
Drs Toshio Obi and Naoko Iwasaki
Waseda University
December ,20212

Preface
The Institute of D-government, Waseda University in cooperation with IAC(International Academyof CIO) has published the "16th Waseda-University-IAC World Digital Government Rankings 2021".
Digital government is required to act as a catalyst for digital administrative and financial reforms andcontribute to significant cost reductions and administrative DX. Full-scale promotion and development
are indispensable as a starting point for economic growth / innovation strategies and strengthening
international competitiveness. This survey analysis evaluates the progress of digital governments in
64 advanced ICT countries from multiple perspectives using 10 major indicators and 35 sub-indicators,
which models were created by Dr. Obi. It is trusted by related organizations around the world including
APEC and has a high degree of contribution to the digital society.
The "World Digital Government Ranking 2021" explains the comprehensive achievements andhistorical transitions of digital governments in 64 ICT-developed countries/economies around theworld. This ranking has attracted attention from all over the world as the world's two largest
evaluations, along with the United Nations ranking. While this ranking is announced annually, theUnited Nations ranking publishes on three indicators every other year.
The top ten countries/economies of this 16th survey were Denmark in first place, Singapore in second
place, and the United Kingdom in third place. The United States was fourth, Canada was fifth, Estonia
was sixth, New Zealand was seventh, South Korea was eighth, Japan was ninth, and Taiwan was tenth.
In addition to explaining the rankings and describing each item and region, overarching themes andtrends, such as the progress of the world's digital government over the past 16 years, changes in overall
rankings, rankings by sector index, rankings by region, and new trends of interests are all summarized
in this report.
The structural weaknesses of major countries/economies includes the vertically divided
administration of government offices exposed in response to Covid-19, the separation of e-government(central) and e-government (local), the financial and digital divides among local governments, and theshortage of ICT human resources.
Looking ahead to the future with a declining birthrate, an aging society, and, public-private
integration and open innovation through digital utilization will greatly contribute not only to cost
reduction and efficiency improvement of administrative and financial reforms, but also to improve theconvenience of people's lives.
3

The top priority of the digital government in the future will be to shift to a new lifestyle and promote
administrative DX through vigorous and rapid digitization. It is also important to protect the stability,
security and safety of people's lives by providing economic revitalization and high-quality
administrative services.
It is important to aim for overall optimization by digitizing central and local areas, not just individual
optimization. In that sense, the role of the digital chief, CIO, who has a strong decision-making ability,
will also attract attention. Furthermore, the integration power of the world's three major advanced
technologies "5G, AI, 8K" will be the basis of global innovation and digital growth strategy forovercoming the COVID-19 with recession.
This survey discusses the causes of delays, strengths and weaknesses, the significance of the digital
government and the future image of digitalization through international comparison and summarizes
the issues and recommendations. This report can be used as a "global textbook" for creating new digitalstrategy amid reducing growing uncertainty due to the COVID-19 disaster.
This evaluation model was developed in 2005 by Prof. Dr. Toshio Obi (since 2018,

he is a Professor

Emeritus, Waseda University), the first Director of the Institute. Dr. Obi received the Minister ofInternal Affairs and Communications distinguished Award in 2015 and also 2018.
The Institute also serves as the APEC Digital Government Research Center, which was created by
APEC in 2005. The World Digital Government Ranking Evaluation, which celebrates its 16th
anniversary this year, is at the core of international collaboration in Digital government research as ameans of providing policy support materials to industry-government-academia leaders in each
Country/economy.
The IAC (International Academy of CIO), a global NPO organization, represents affiliateduniversities and academic organization in order to obtain the latest and most accurate information andanalyze and evaluate data. We have formed a joint international team by international distinguishedexperts from the following academic Institutions for many years.
A joint research and advisory group has been founded from the distinguished experts of collaborating
universities among IAC members. These are National University of Singapore (Singapore), Peking
University (China), George Mason University (USA), Bocconi University (Italy), Turku University(Finland), Thammasat University (Thailand), The Russian Presidential Academy of National
Economy and Public Administration (Russia), LaSalle University (Philippines), Bandung Institute ofTechnology (Indonesia), Taiwan e-Governance Research Center (Taiwan), and Waseda University
which is a coordinating body.
4In the research process, a team of expert’s exchange views with international organizations such as
APEC. With Professor Iwasaki as the leader of the Institute of D-government Waseda University, we
will analyze the progress of each area more concretely toward the global development and cooperationof the digital society and aim to solve various issues relating to SDGs, Ageing society and global
warning.

5

A.

World Digital Government Ranking 2021

Overall Ranking
Table 1. 16th World Digital Government Comprehensive Ranking 2021
noCountry/economy

Score

30

Saudi Arabia

76.4124

60

Costa Rica

57.3152

1

Denmark

94.2748

31

Kazakhstan

75.2545

61

Pakistan

56.94832

Singapore

94.052032

Philippines

73.2548

62

Nigeria55.40673UK

93.9841

33

Malaysia

73.2088

63

Fiji

54.84984USA

93.721034

Indonesia

72.9366

64

Tunisia54.2517

5

Canada90.9754

35

Uruguay

72.4353

6

Estonia90.161736

Portugal

72.3409

7

New Zealand

90.0918

37

South Africa

71.14748South Korea

88.1366

38

India

70.5637

9

Japan

87.6184

39

Colombia

70.5028

10

Taiwan87.325540

Israel70.2476

11

Australia

87.2496

41

Brunei69.8509

12

Sweden86.8587

42

Lithuania

69.5926

13

Finland

86.571143

Czech

69.4843

14

Netherlands

86.0419

44

Poland69.2256

15

Switzerland

85.3347

45

Vietnam

69.089316

UAE

83.667346

Chile

68.253117

Iceland

83.5351

47

Mexico68.1738

18

Norway83.0516

48

Turkey67.8051

19

Ireland82.940449

China

66.6266

20

Germany

82.680950

Macau

66.2558

21

Austria82.3929

51

Georgia

65.9696

22

France81.7544

52

Bahrain

65.500423

Italy

81.4697

53

Romania65.2758

24

Belgium

80.4378

54

Kenya

63.8613

25

Thailand

79.651055

Argentina

60.4899

26

Russia79.5482

56

Egypt

59.264227

Spain

78.7469

57

Peru

58.9727

28

Hong Kong

76.5967

58

Brazil58.9361

29

Oman

76.480759

Morocco58.1522

6

The following table summarizes all 10 indicators and sub-indicators in 35 fields under indicators.

Table 2. Key field evaluation 10 indicators and sub-35 indicator list
10

major survey items

35

Survey sub-items

1-1 Internet subscribers

Network infrastructure enhancement ・NIP

1-2 Broadband users(Building and maintenance of public network)

1-3 Digital mobile phone subscribers

Contribution to administrative and financial

2-1 Optimization progressreforms,

2-2 Integrated EA model

optimizationofadministrative

management, MO (effects of EA, etc.)

2-3 Administrative budget system
3-1 Electronic bidding system

Progress of various online applications and3-2 Electronic tax payment

services / OS (types and progress of online service

3-3 Electronic payment / customs clearance system

activities)

3-4 eHealth system
3-5 One-stop service
4-1 Navigation function

Convenience of homepage and portal site ・

4-2 Two-way dialogue

NPR (Status of National Portal)

4-3 Interface
4-4 Technical convenience

Government CIO (Chief

Information

5-1 Introduction of CIO

Officer)

5-2 CIO Authority

Activity ・GCIO

5-3 CIO Organization(Authority and human resource development)

5-4 CIO Human Resources Development Plan
6-1 Legal response

E-Government Strategy / Promotion Measures

6-2 Effective promotion business/ EPRO

6-3 Support mechanism(Achievement of the plan)
Enrichmentof

citizens'

6-4 Evaluation mechanism
administrative

7-1 Information sharing mechanism

participation by ICT・EPAR

7-2 Exchange / Discussion(Electronic participation of citizens)

7-3 Participation in decision making
8-1 Legal response

Open Government OGD

8-2 Society(Open data)

8-3 Organization
9-1 Legal response

Cyber security / CYB

9-2 Cybercrime measures79-3 Internet Security Organization
10-1 Cloud utilization
Utilization of advanced ICT/EMG

10-2 IoT utilization
10-3 Big data utilization

According to the "16th Waseda University Digital Government Ranking" survey, rapid DX
development has been seen through various activities in many countries after the COVID-19 disaster.
Table 1 shows the overall ranking of the 64 target countries.
According to the results of this 16th survey, Denmark regained first place, up one rank fromlast year's second place. Singapore came in second place and UK in third place, both also up one placefrom the previous ranking. The United States came in fourth place, a drastic drop of three ranks fromfirst place last year. Canada in 5th place has grown dramatically from eighth place last year. Estonia
came in sixth place dropping one rank from fifth place last year, and seventh place New Zealandjumped significantly from 13th place. South Korea came in eighth place and is one rank up from ninth
place last year. Japan fell to ninth place after maintaining seventh place for the past two rankings in arow. Taiwan came in tenth place, up from 11th place last year. The penetration of DX brought about
by the Covid-19 pandemic is strongly emphasized in this year’s ranking.

8

B.

Top 10 Features of the World Digital

Government Ranking 2021
The biggest feature of the world digital government ranking 2021 is that the digital support
for COVID-19 had a great influence on the ranking.
[1st place: Denmark]This time Denmark has reclaimed the number one spot since it last held it in 2018.
Denmark's Covid-19 countermeasures under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Finance (whichprioritizes administrative and financial matters) include a "Corona Pass," which utilizes Denmark’s
information infrastructure as a digitally advanced country. From an early stage, Denmark developedand issued a digital certificate called the COVID-19 Pass, which spearheaded the introduction ofcompatible digital green certificates in the EU. It is available in Danish, English and French, and is
successful because all procedures are completed online.
Denmark ranked first in the ranking in 2018, second in 2019/20, and also ranked first in the
United Nations e-government ranking in 2020. Denmark is currently the world's most advanced digital
government nation.
In October 2011, the Digitalization Agency was established in Denmark as an institution
involved in digitization strategies to bring benefits to citizens and businesses, and it is now in its tenthyear. The agency oversees digital strategies related to cloud, standardization, welfare, greening, etc.
The Digitalization Agency has the authority to promote cross-ministerial digitization and isan organization that has developed a data linkage platform. It is also active in decentralization reform,
promoting cooperation between the central government and local governments, and the central
government is also intervening in the data of local governments.
Looking back, Denmark established the CPR (Social Security Number) in 1968. The CPR
is widely used by both the public and private sectors, including the medical, education, and welfare
systems. In addition to the frequent use of personal numbers by related organizations, medical
examination appointments, test result reports, and information on prescription drugs were shared on
the medical portal site, which became the basis of the COVID-19 pass. Considering the way the system
was designed from the user's point of view, as well as the speed with which the Corona Pass system
was built, which the establishment and system design are highly evaluated.
In addition, according to the analysis results of 10 indicators (benchmarks), the degree ofDenmark’s network infrastructure is ranked second, the degree of contribution to administrative andfinancial reform is ranked first, the progress of various online application services is first, and theconvenience of homepages and portal sites is first, the degree of fulfillment of citizens' administrative
9

participation by ICT is first, Open Government is first, Cyber Security is first, and so on. Denmark is
ranked high in almost all the world's indicator items. The digital government ranking is acomprehensive rating, but one can see that Denmark is good for most of them.
[2nd place: Singapore]
Singapore has returned to second from third place last year. Digitization is positioned as themost important issue for the Singapore government's national strategy. It has the second highest digitalcompetitiveness in the world in the "World Digital Competitiveness Ranking 2020" by IMD.
The strengthening of DX can be seen from the fact that about 20 US billion dollars will be
invested in maintaining the competitiveness of the manufacturing industry and researching anddeveloping innovative technologies to fulfill the goals set for 2025. Singapore is also focusing on
attracting IT human resources, promoting IT human resources investment by introducing a new visa
"Techpass" and advocating the Research, Innovation, Enterprise 2025 Plan as a strategy to strengthen
R & D within 5 years.
In addition, as a measure against COVID-19, the introduction of Safe Entry (entrance / exit
recording system) is obligatory for all businesses, and Singapore has succeeded in controlling infection
by streamlining the identification of infected persons and close contacts.
This system also has contributed to the reduction of minor crimes and the maintenance andimprovement of public order by visualizing public behavior. It has been evaluated by the public for its
contribution to the pursuit of efficiency through digitalization and the construction of a safe and securesociety, and it has earned the trust of vulnerable digital people such as the elderly. The digital
government model can provide stakeholder-first services that meet the needs of citizens and businesses.
Regarding the 10 benchmarks, the degree of activity of government CIOs, the degree of fullness of
citizens' participation in government by ICT, open government, and cyber security are all ranked first,
and the utilization of advanced ICT is ranked second.
[3rd place: UK]
The UK came in third place has improved from fourth place last year. Comprehensively
examining the 10 indicators(benchmarks), the UK is making good progress. The degree of network
infrastructure is sixth, the progress of various online application services is seventh, the convenienceof homepages and portal sites is 2nd, the activity of government CIOs is fourth, and the strategy andpromotion measures of e-government are eighth. The UK places high overall, with cyber security
ranked tenth and advanced ICT utilization ranked 2nd. The UK managed to retain most of its
benchmark ranks.
The National Health Service (NHS) oversees medical care, and DX conversion has
progressed at once due to the COVID-19 disaster. In the intensive care unit (ICU), medical teams
10communicate through a dedicated app that includes management of tasks, introduces a machinelearning model, and measures the demand for ICU beds and ventilators, and the length of hospital stayfor patients. It made predictions so that resources can be used more efficiently. Video conference tools
have also been introduced to facilitate communication between doctors, patients and their families. In
addition, about 1 million people have applied for "Universal Credit" for low-income earners. The UK
government is successful in identifying the support recipients from the tax payment information,
contacting them, and transferring the benefits soon after application.
[4th place: USA]
Although the United States ranked down from first place last year to fourth this year, thegovernment CIO is ranked 1st, the degree of fulfillment of citizens' administrative participation by
ICT is 1st, the utilization of advanced ICT is 1st, homepage, portal site convenience ranked second,and e-government strategy and promotion measures ranked eighth.
As a measure against COVID-19, the US adopted a method of transferring money directly
to an individual's bank account with a social security number. Although US placed first in the 2020
ranking, the use of digital for COVID-19 countermeasures differed depending on the state, and theturmoil due to the influence of political and social division undermined the effectiveness ofgovernment response. Contact confirmation apps have been developed in each state, and "vaccine
passports" that show vaccination history are currently being discussed, with conservatives voicing
significant opposition on the grounds of privacy concerns. New York was the first state to introduce itat the end of March, but the Republican governors of both Florida and Texas have banned passport
requirements, and the federal government has stated that it "does not support a system that requires
carrying certificates." These legal and social barrier remains even if the technology is further
developed.
So far, the United States has (1) focused on increasing employment in the mobile businesssector, (2) the government has adapted to the new digital environment to unlock the value ofgovernment data and promote innovation, and (3) in order to streamline operations with a focus on AI,
the White House issued an administrative order to maintain US leadership in AI in 2018, and threepoints that are highly evaluated in the digital government ranking. In addition, the announcement of
the "American AI Initiative," a national strategy that maintains and strengthens scientific, technical,
and economic leadership in AI, R&D and deployment, is affecting the utilization of advanced ICT.
[5th place: Canada]
Canada has made significant strides in digitization in the past few years. In the previous
survey, Canada jumped to tenth place from 16th place the prior year. Canada has now risen all the way
to fifth place in this year’s ranking. The Government of Canada is making a number of efforts to11

improve digital government, including the latest Digital Operations Strategy Plan for 2018-2022 on
DX, online services, cybersecurity, information management and information technology. Canada isproceeding with implementation focusing on the establishment of government integration guidelines.
In 2019, the government also began promoting administrative reforms such as the Canada Cloud
Implementation Strategy with the aim of expanding online services and minimizing application andinfrastructure costs.
In Canada, policies are being promoted mainly by the Ministry of Digital Government. The
Ministry of Digital Government was introduced as part of the Government of Canada under Prime
Minister Justin Trudeau, and the Minister of Digital Government also oversees Shared Services
Canada, the government sector responsible for managing and maintaining information technology
services throughout the Government of Canada.
In addition, Canada manages the evolution of digital services and technology through the"Digital Operation Strategic Plan." It has been built and expanded based on the Government of
Canada's Information Management and Information Technology Strategic Plan from 2017 to 2021. In
the strategic plan the CIO directly sets the digital direction of the government and establishes theintegrated direction of the government regarding DX, services, security, information management, andinformation technology.
Waseda University's D-government ranking has highly evaluated Canada for its contribution
to administrative and financial reforms, cybersecurity, and advanced IT utilization, and the progressof various online application services. Canada ranked fifth for the activity of the government CIO, theseventh open government, and the convenience of the homepage / portal site was ninth place.
Comprehensively evaluating the benchmarks, Canada performs well overall despite only a single
metric in first place. Considering Covid-19 support, Canada has succeeded in rapid digital support,such as applying for benefits online and transferring stimulus to 7.55 million people within 10 days ofthe program.
[6th place: Estonia]
In sixth place is Estonia, which has had a great influence in the field of digital government
around the world. Estonia is the only country in the world where 99% of public services are available
online. The country has reached an unprecedented level of transparency in governance and has built
up widespread trust in the digital world. This year, the government has introduced AI and cloudstrategy, making it the most digitalized country in the world, and it is also the year to take the next
step of digitalization to expand the ICT society.
Estonia with a population of 1.3 million, has always placed in the top 10 in the e-government
world rankings since the rankings began. Estonia was under control of the Soviet Union in the past,
after the collapse and breakup of the USSR in 1991, the newly independent government was forced to12maintain the communication infrastructure and Internet environment. In the following years, theconstruction of the system infrastructure led to repeated successes, and today 99 % of theadministrative services can be completed online. The Electronic Residence Rights Bill passed in 2014
and makes it easy for anyone, regardless of nationality, to apply and open a local corporation or bankaccount, take advantage of virtual benefits as well as physical residence, such as being able toparticipate in the EU market.
Since the 2000s, Estonia has digitized many administrative procedures such as resident
registration and tax payment and the ability to complete various services online 24 hours a day. With
one national ID number, it can act as a driver's license or health insurance card, or as a tax ID tocomplete a tax return online in just a few minutes. Now over 95% of tax returns are completed online.
In the 2019 parliamentary elections, online voting exceeded 40 Estonia’s highly rated benchmark
evaluations include: first in the degree of contribution to administrative and financial reform, first in
the degree of fulfillment of citizens' administrative participation by ICT, second in the convenience of
homepages and portal sites, and the degree of progress of various online applications and services.
third place in the ranking, sixth place in the activity of the government CIO, and sixth place in the
cyber security.
[7th place: New Zealand]
New Zealand has created a special website for COVID-19 support in all 28 languages
common in New Zealand, including sign language. New Zealand's e-government has a long history,
going back to April 2001, the "E-government Strategy" had already been formulated, and updated
versions were released in December 2001, June 2003, and later in 2006.
A networked and accessible national service was advocated and promoted with the aim ofcreating citizen participation in the government. In 2010 the "ICT Management and Investment Policy
and Priority Plan" was announced. In 2012, the public service improvement program began, andvarious digitization measures started in earnest. At that time, New Zealand adopted a network-type
leadership model called "Digital Government Partnership" centered on the government CIO and is
promoting citizen-collaboration-type digital measures for the overall optimization of the nation.
New Zealand is also a major founder of the seven-country network "D7," which expands egovernment efforts and discusses everything from AI ethics to privacy. "DIGITAL.GOV.NZ" is aportal site that collects information on digitization-related measures operated by the New Zealand
Government. She has hosted APEC web meetings in 2021 which is very successful.
In terms of indicators, it ranked first in e-government strategy and promotion measures, firstin open government, sixth in convenience of homepages and portal sites, sixth in cyber security, andeighth in contribution to administrative and financial reforms. It is ranked tenth in the degree offulfillment of citizens' administrative participation by ICT and has received a relatively high evaluation.
13

[8th place: South Korea]
South Korea came in eighth place, down from sixth place two years ago, but up from ninth
place last year. The main characteristic of South Korea's digital government is that it is led by digital
government agencies that prioritize innovation. Among the main indicators, the progress of various
online application services is ranked first, the network infrastructure is ranked fourth, the open
government is ranked sixth, and the government CIO is ranked seventh. By improving the e-Gov
Frame portal, 702 digital government projects are being promoted in local and central integrated
management systems to provide policy information to businesses. The greatest strength of the South
Korean digital government is that the central and local governments, which are the premise ofdigitalization, are linked and unified.
In South Korea, cyber security is promoted under various laws, regulations, and guidelines
such as the IT Network Usage and Information Protection Promotion Law (Network Law) and the
Personal Information Protection Law (PIPA). The Network Law plays an important role in promoting
cyber security from the perspective of protecting personal information and strengthening data securityof IT networks. PIPA functions as a personal information protection law by applying it in combination
with the Network Law for all cases of privacy infringement including cyber-attacks and data leakage.
[9th place: Japan]
Japan had maintained seventh place previous two rankings, but this time it fell to ninth place.
Japan's issues were exposed in response to COVID-19. Japan's structural weaknesses include thevertically divided administration of government offices that was exposed in response to Covid-19, theseparation of e-government (central) and e-government (local), the financial and digital divide of local
governments, and the shortage of ICT human resources.
Looking ahead to the future declining birthrate, super-aging society, and declining
population, public-private integration and open innovation through digital utilization will greatly
contribute to cost reduction and efficiency, improvement of administrative and financial reforms, andincreasing the convenience of people's lives. The top priority of the digital government in the postCOVID era is to shift to a new lifestyle and promote administrative DX through powerful and rapid
digitization. At the same time, it is important to provide economic revitalization and high-quality
administrative services to protect the stability, security and safety of people's lives.
In Japan, the Digital Agency was established on September 1, 2021 in order to promptly andintensively promote measures related to the formation of a digital society and to promote the speedy
management of administrative affairs. In the future, Japan should aim for overall optimization bydigitizing central and local areas, rather than individual optimization. In that sense, the digital chief,
CIO who has a strong decision-making ability, is also attracting attention. As of November 2021, the14issuance of My Number Cards (ID card), which support the digital government, is about 40%. In the
future, Japan will improve the convenience of lives by adding functions of service applications suchas health insurance cards.
Japan is ranked first in the degree of activity of the government CIO, fourth in the strategy
and promotion measures of the e-government, and tenth in the degree of utilization of advanced ICT.
This time as well, the government CIO is expected to play an active role and is highly evaluated tomaterialize the digital society by Society 5.0 strategy. In the future, it will be important to promote theprovision of administrative services from the user's perspective and to the digital government with thestandardization and efficiency of business processes and information systems in mind.
[10th place: Taiwan (Chinese Taipei in APEC)]
Taiwan came in tenth place and has improved from 11th place in the previous ranking. In
terms of indicators, it ranked first in open government, first in e-government strategy and promotion
measures, fifth in contribution to administrative and financial reforms, and eighth in the degree offulfillment of citizens' administrative participation through ICT. It is highly evaluated as the fifth placein the utilization of advanced ICT. The mask map by Minister Audrey Tan, who was highly evaluatedworldwide for COVID-19 measures, was the background of the high evaluation in the strategy andpromotion measures of open government and e-government.
In Taiwan, a citizen advocacy group called Civic Tech are actively taking part in social issuesof administrative services by utilizing technology. This is a successful example of open government.
The government portal site "My E-Government" has been devised so that citizens can easily accessthe information and procedures they need, and it serves as a model for the digital government.
[11th place: Australia]
Australia fell sharply from sixth place in the previous ranking to 11th place. The government
has sought to build a digital identity system for users with the goal of making great strides with DX
by 2025. The Australian Government has set a goal of providing world-leading digital services tobenefit all people by 2025 through a digital strategy, but this time it is downgraded. On the other hand,in terms of indicators, it is ranked eighth in terms of contribution to administrative and financial
reforms and eighth in open government.
[12th place: Sweden]
Sweden has gradually slipped from eighth place two years ago, tenth place in last year's
ranking, to 12th place this time. The "Comprehensive Cyber Security Measures Plan" wasimplemented at the government agency level in March 2019 and has been highly evaluated in termsof digital government indicators.
15

In the Nordic Mobility Action Program, the Swedish government is accelerating theimplementation of the eIDAS (Electronic Personal ID Card) a project in collaboration with the Nordic
and Baltic states that is still ongoing. Citizens of Scandinavian and Baltic countries can use theirelectronic IDs to access public services when migrating, working or studying abroad in other countries
in the region. To expand the application of DX, the Swedish government and local governments are
moving towards improving both social and medical services with a vision by 2025.
In Sweden, many efforts are being made by the central and local governments to promote
the digital government. In October 2015, the Digital Government Advisory Board was established,consisting of high-level public sector decision makers, to advise on digital government policy. Regularmeetings and events are held at the local government level to promote the digital government.
In terms of indicators, it is highly evaluated as second for convenience of homepages andportal sites, eighth for network infrastructure, and eighth for open government.
[13th place: Finland]
Finland, which prioritizes administrative and financial reforms, has risen two ranks from15th place last time. The European Commission's annual Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI)
is driven by a wealth of digital human resources, including being ranked number one under COVID19, work style reforms have progressed, and the operating rate of remote work in 2020 reached about
60%, the fastest in Europe. The AI-based administrative service "Aurora AI" is also expected to start
operation at the end of 2022.
In terms of indicators, the degree of utilization of advanced ICT ranked fifth, theconvenience of homepages and portal sites ranked sixth, the degree of fulfillment of citizens'
administrative participation by ICT ranked sixth, and the progress of various online application
services seventh.
[14th place: Netherlands]
The Dutch e-government has improved dramatically in the last few years with a focus tosustainable development goals. It increased from its previous 20th place to 14th place.
Since the launch of digital public services in the Netherlands in 1994, the government has
focused on citizens' electronic participation and sought to provide faster services as part of their efforts
to participate in the decision-making process.
In 1998, the E-Government Action Program was launched by the Ministry of Interior andthe Ministry of Kingdom Relations. Nine principles (high cost-effectiveness, compatibility withexisting structures, privacy, inter-sectoral, ICT utilization, multi-channel, private sector collaboration,
integration to achieve more efficient and effective e-government financial responsibility) were adopted.
The DigiD app was released in July 2017, with over 340 million DigiD certifications within two years.
16The Dutch electronic ID distinguishes between DigiD, which is an electronic ID for citizens, andeHerkenning, which is an electronic ID for businesses. In addition to this, the national electronic
invoice service is also in place.
The highly transparent citizen portal Mijn Overheid is the point of contact for data viewing.
In terms of indicators, it is ranked seventh in terms of network infrastructure, tenth in termsof convenience of homepages and portal sites, and eighth in open government.
[15th place: Switzerland]
Switzerland has dropped one rank from 14th last year to 15th this year.
As part of the Swiss government's DX efforts, the Federal Council's "Digital Swiss Strategy"
initiative is updated every two years. This strategy was adopted on September 11, 2020. It provides
guidelines for government action on digitization and serves as an orientation framework for otherdigital Swiss stakeholder, including economics, science and civil society.
Specifically, it will improve the management of patient electronic data in medical use,
digitize patient records and secure access for medical professionals, and strengthen personal dataprotection. Ensuring transparency by strengthening cyber security and utilizing AI is also
recommended. The purpose of DX is also one of the important factors for realizing the SDGs set by
the United Nations.
Efficient business procedures and equal political participation for all people and businesses
through digitization of politics and administrative services, interactive politics with transparency andrelationships with people, efficiency of central and local governments the Swiss are also focusing on
the realization of such cooperation.
In addition, it is also focusing on environmental protection, with the aim of optimallyutilizing digitization for climate and environmental protection by the end of 2021, the Federal
Environment Agency, Ecological Cycle Assessment and Energy. It tries to show how to improve thebasics of consumption and footprint calculation.
As a digital economic policy, the Swiss are focusing on the enhancement of the sharing
economy, digital finance, research and development, trade relations and competition policy by the endof 2022.
Digital applications have played an important role in the influence of COVID-19. However,there are weaknesses in digital utilization as a countermeasure against COVID-19, and it is necessary
to improve it.
In terms of indicators, Switzerland is highly evaluated as No. 1 in cyber security, No. 5 interms of network infrastructure enhancement, and No. 5 in terms of utilization of advanced ICT.

17

[16th place: United Arab Emirates]
The UAE has evolved dramatically from 22nd place last year to 16th place. The UAE's
national digital government strategy looks at the realities of the post-COVID-19 world, and it wasformulated with eight points in mind:1: no one is left behind, 2: elasticity, 3: fits into the digital age,
4: user perspective, 5: design, 6: data driven, 7: default, 8: policy that emphasizes positiveness. The
UAE emphasizes open and comprehensive processes, accessibility, transparency, and accountability,
and are also focusing on dealing with the elderly and other digitally vulnerable people.
World-class digital infrastructure installation, platforms, securing human resources, and ICT
law are also set as goals, and priorities and roadmaps are established for each index. The government
has also set goals such as adopting 80% of digital services by 2021 and improving the financial
efficiency of government services by 20%.
In terms of indicators, UAE is highly evaluated as No. 1 in the degree of fulfillment of
citizens' administrative participation by ICT, No. 6 in the degree of progress of various online
application services, and No. 9 in the degree of fulfillment of network infrastructure.
[17th place: Iceland]
Iceland has risen significantly from 21st place last year to 17th place. The level of digital
support through COVID-19 was highly evaluated. In April 2020, Iceland started the operation of an
infected person tracking application "Rakning C-19" as one of the infection control measures andprevented the spread of infection through early detection and quarantine. According to the 2018 OECDstatistics, the average of online administrative procedures in the OECD was 39.3%, while Iceland wasat the top with about 80%. The penetration rate of broadband Internet is almost 100%.
Although Iceland is a small country, it has a long history of digital government. Services
have also shifted to the cloud native service model and have grown. Most of the government services
are also provided through websites, including e-government portals, important public service sites
such as tax collection and payment, and voting registration.
Iceland first used the public cloud in 2005 and has been running public infrastructure (IaaS)
as a large-scale service since 2008. This is a factor in the success of evolution such as improvement oflabor productivity, cost reduction, and improvement of security.
In terms of indicators, Iceland is highly evaluated as the third place in the degree of network
infrastructure and the third place in the progress of various online application services, which shows
the result of the progress of the digital government in Iceland.
[18th place: Norway]
Norway dropped from 12th last year to 18th this year. Norge.no links to digital public
services across all Norwegian sector and government levels. The central government and many18

municipalities are digitally networked with citizens, and Norway has important sources of information
for citizens as well. Citizens have an electronic ID.
The Norwegian secure digital mailbox scheme advances paperless procedures and allows
citizens to receive official documents digitally. Open data is available from the National Data Catalog,
data.norge.no and contains national and local public agency information, including relevant
hierarchical data, contact information data, and geographic location data.
To become the best digital nation in the world, Norway will leverage renewable energy, lowelectricity prices and digital infrastructure to step up its commitment to sustainable data centers, create
jobs and develop digital services.
In terms of indicators, it is ranked first in terms of network infrastructure and sixth in cybersecurity.
[19th place: Ireland]
Ireland has jumped almost ten places from 28th place last year to 19th place this year.
In December 2020, Ireland signed the "Berlin Declaration on Digital Society and ValueBased Digital Government" adopted by the EU. This Declaration ensures that DX is based on strong
common democratic and ethical values and a set of specified principles. The Irish government keeps
in mind that this will take advantage of new technologies for common benefit.
As a measure against COVID-19, Covid Tracker was created. My Gov ID is a government
digital authentication and common ID framework. Online services will be provided by expanding thee-ID system. The number of My GovID account owners has doubled over the past year. While mostof the population is registered with My Gov ID accounts, the problem is that they are late in providing
online services. Notably, the Minister of Digital Government and the Greens see Europe's digitaltransformation as a focus on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the Paris Agreement, andthe European Green New Deal. They recognize that the integrated introduction of digitalization andgreening will increase the credibility of the government and contribute to its advancement.
In terms of indicators, the degree of activity of the government CIO is evaluated as seventh.
[20th place: Germany]
Germany has dropped three ranks from 17th place last year. Overall, there is a delay in the
progress of the digital government, especially in the fields of digital services, e-Payment, user
satisfaction, open government, and etc.
A recent OECD study also shows that Germany retains huge economic opportunities,
leaving e-government and open data almost undeveloped, despite the basic prerequisites for smarter
cities. In addition, in the field of data-driven public sector, it was the lowest among OECD countries.
Currently, the open data strategy is being adopted and the e-government law is being amended, and19Germany is heading toward recovery. Meanwhile, in the area of smart cities, which are closely related
to the digital government, the German market is projected to more than double to € 84.7 billion by2026. Smart cities are expected to promote investment and the creation of start-up companies.
The decentralized system, which is said to be one of Germany's strengths, has been adetriment in digitization along with COVID-19 delays. It is expected that ministries and agencies willbe established to promote DX in the future. There was no index benchmark that was evaluated within
tenth place.
[21st place: Austria]
Austria moved up three places from 24th place last year. One of the government's earliest
and most important digitization projects was the e-Autonomy Act (e-GovG), which came into effecton March 1, 2004.
The main elements of E-GovG are the establishment of one-stop shop points for citizens tocontact authorities, the signature on digital citizen cards or mobile phones that act as digital IDs, theelectronic distribution of official documents and letters, a standard document register containing dataon important citizen documents (birth certificate, wedding certificate, residence certificate, etc.).
E-government and efforts in the field of digitalization have long made Austria one ofEurope's most successful countries in digitalization. On the other hand, there is some confusion indigitalization during COVID-19, and according to the Digital Economy and Social Index issued by
the European Commission, Austria provides digital public services to companies, although it is slightly
above the EU average, it ranks 13th and lags behind innovative countries. According to a survey
conducted by the Austrian Institute of Economic Research in May 2021, Austria's strength is said tobe the digital public service provided to its citizens.
In terms of indicators, it is ranked first in cyber security and eighth in contribution toadministrative and financial reforms.
[22nd place: France]
France has dropped four ranks from 18th place last year. In terms of indicators, the degreeof fulfillment of citizens' administrative participation by ICT is evaluated as the sixth in the world.
The personalized eID service developed by the French government is called e-ID France
Connect and can be used for both public and many private services. Pro Connect is a future eID systemfor enterprises that was piloted in the fourth quarter of 2020 and was expected to be rolled out thereafter.
In the field of ePayment, since mid-October 2018, the Directorate General of Finance (DGFiP) has
provided public institutions and users with an enhanced, secure and up-to-date online payment service
called PayFiP. PayFiP allows you to pay invoices issued by local governments and public institutions(states, local governments, hospitals, etc.) with bank deposits.
20[23rd place: Italy]
Italy jumped from 27th last year to 23rd this year. E ID SPID is a solution that allows users
to access all online government services from their electronic devices using a single digital ID. The
legal officer of the organization can apply for and use a digital ID SPID to access online services. It isalso possible to equip employees with digital IDs for corporate professional use.
ePayment's PagoPA enables citizens and businesses to make electronic payments togovernments based on the rules, standards, and tools defined by the Agency for Digital Italy (AgID)
and accepted by government agencies, banks, post offices, and more. Citizens can view the datacontained in the National Register (ANPR) by logging in to the ANPR website, and transparency ismaintained.
[24th place: Belgium]
Belgium went up one rank from 25th to 24th this year. This time, Belgium was ranked tenthin the progress of various online application services and fifth in the utilization of advanced ICT in theindex.
The Belgian government is considering creating an online wallet for all people living in
Belgium, providing all official documents, from visas to marriage certificates, to simplify the
management process. We are investing in the construction of digital platforms that users can
comfortably use, including digital wallets, and the enhancement of applications. The digital
government from the user's point of view is evaluated by services such as these digital wallets.
As of January 2021, Belgium has a population of 11.61 million and Internet users in thesame month of 10.57 million. The number of users increased by 158,000 (+ 1.5%) between 2020 and
2021. The Internet penetration rate in Belgium is over 90%, and the ICT penetration rate is increasing.
[25th place: Thailand]
Thailand has risen a notch from 26th place last year. In terms of indicators, the degree ofcontribution to administrative and financial reform and the optimization of administrative management
were evaluated in fifth place.
The core of Thailand's National Development Plan, Thailand 4.0, is to enable transparent
governments to use digital technology to provide access to public services and data.
Thailand's digital government is helping to increase access to public sector data for both
citizens and businesses to lead the digitization of the private sector and promote the country's overall
economic competitiveness.
In addition, the "Thailand 4.0" National Development Plan promotes the adoption andinnovation of digital and automation and robotic technologies among SMEs, manufacturing
21

companies and service sectors. In addition, the Thai government can enjoy technological opportunities
for the state to improve the quality of life of its citizens, participation in governance, and strengtheningof the state's economic competitiveness through initiatives such as smart city development projects
and big data platforms.
The Thai government opened "Village Broadband Internet" in 2017 to make Internet accessmore equitable for citizens and made all 74,987 villages accessible to high-speed Internet networks.
This will give users access to government e-services, e-commerce, e-business and e-banking
applications related to healthcare and online government.
The Thai government's digital government policy has been strengthened by the Digital
Government Administration and Services Act BE 2262 (AD 2019) to ensure social and economic
fairness, economic competitiveness, government transparency and people's participation. The
framework is also consistent with the ASEAN Digital Master Plan 2025. The Digital Government
Development Agency (DGA) is entrusted by law to advance the implementation of digital government.
COVID-19 is accelerating the digital government architecture among government agencies. Amongthe key measures were designed to reduce the burden of private sector documentation, improve
efficiency, and facilitate the use of digital IDs, including digital signatures between government
agencies.

22

C.

Top 10 countries (economy) in characteristic

sector indicators
The World Digital Government Rankings are based on a comprehensive index analysis toprovide a detailed and accurate assessment of the latest digital government developments in the ICT
sector of all target countries. Currently, 10 key indicators are used to conduct digital government
ranking surveys. The following table summarizes the indicators for all 10 items and the sub-indicatorsin the 35 fields below them.
The following table summarizes all 10 indicators and sub-indicators in 35 fields under theirumbrella.

Table 3. Key field evaluation indicators and sub-35 indicator list
10

major survey items

35

Survey sub-items

1-1 Internet subscribers

Network infrastructure enhancement ・NIP

1-2 Broadband users(Building and maintenance of public network)

1-3 Digital mobile phone subscribers

Contribution to administrative and financial

2-1 Optimization progressreforms,

2-2 Integrated EA model

optimizationofadministrative

management, MO (effects of EA, etc.)

2-3 Administrative budget system
3-1 Electronic bidding system

Progress of various online applications and3-2 Electronic tax payment

services / OS (types and progress of online service

3-3 Electronic payment / customs clearance system

activities)

3-4 eHealth system
3-5 One-stop service
4-1 Navigation function

Convenience of homepage and portal site ・

4-2 Two-way dialogue

NPR (Status of National Portal)

4-3 Interface
4-4 Technical convenience

Government CIO (Chief

Information

Officer)

Activity ・GCIO

5-1 Introduction of CIO
5-2 CIO Authority
5-3 CIO Organization(Authority and human resource development)

5-4 CIO Human Resources Development Plan

E-Government Strategy / Promotion Measures

6-1 Legal response/ EPRO

6-2 Effective promotion business
23

(Achievement of the plan)

6-3 Support mechanism
6-4 Evaluation mechanism

Enrichmentof

citizens'

administrative

7-1 Information sharing mechanism

participation by ICT・EPAR

7-2 Exchange / Discussion(Electronic participation of citizens)

7-3 Participation in decision making
8-1 Legal response

Open Government OGD

8-2 Society(Open data)

8-3 Organization
9-1 Legal response

Cyber security / CYB

9-2 Cybercrime measures
9-3 Internet Security Organization
10-1 Cloud utilization

Utilization of advanced ICT/EMG

10-2 IoT utilization
10-3 Big data utilization

The evaluation for each index is as follows.
1. Network Preparedness/Infrastructure (NIP)
Three sub-indicators are used to evaluate the digital government in terms of " Network
Preparedness". Internet users are an important sub-index for assessing a country's online application
services. Today, the development of wireless broadband, especially 5G, has become mainstream.
Infrastructure development has already been deployed and applied in many countries. This
will be of great help to developing countries in terms of increased high-speed connectivity, evolutionof infrastructure over wide bandwidths, and the adoption and progress of digital government strategies,
reducing the digital divide between developed countries.
This time, Norway has a very high digital penetration rate and is the top in this indicator.
Norway has a well-developed infrastructure such as ICT networks necessary for the digital
government and is ranked as high as it was last year because of the interoperability of the system andthe possibility of mass exchange of data between the ministries and agencies of the government.
Norway has also been focusing on greening from an early stage, with the government
focusing on "green IT" solutions to continuously expand its ICT infrastructure in order to provide a
healthier environment for all. Norway is promoting PPP with the private sector.
Denmark, which boasts an Internet penetration rate of 98%, has been highly evaluated for
its infrastructure, the same case as last year. The Danish government is working to lay the foundation
for companies to leverage digital technology and position the country as a digital front runner and has
already introduced the 5G Action Plan in 2019.
24

Table 4. Network infrastructure enrichment (NIP)
Ranking

Country/economy

NIP-Score1

Norway8.03482

Denmark8.03163

Iceland8.0186

4

South Korea

8.0020

5

Switzerland

7.98776UK

7.84387Netherlands

7.8417

8

Sweden7.8382

9

United Arab Emirates

7.7604

10

Hong Kong7.6903

2．Management Optimization/Efficiency (MO)“Management Optimization” is an important indicator of the government's optimal behavior
in the operation and implementation of digital government ICT. It is evaluated by the strategy for
project implementation and ICT application development. This index also evaluates new technologies
that are optimal for promoting online services. Digital policy and system architecture settings are also
factors for all governments to consider moving to a digital model.
This indicator assesses the degree of ICT utilization to improve government business andinternal processes (back offices of each organization). Government management optimization is an
important indicator for digital government development as it is related to optimization progress,
integrated enterprise architecture (EA), and government management budget system.
In this ranking, Denmark, Canada, Estonia and Japan were tied for the top position with thesame score.
Table 5. Contribution to administrative and financial reform, optimization of administrative
management (MO)Ranking

Country/economy

MO-Score

1

Denmark

12.0001

Canada12.0001

Estonia

12.0001

Japan

12.0005Singapore

11.9005

Taiwan11.90025

5Thailand11.9008

New Zealand11.8008Australia

11.8008Austria11.8003．Online Services/Functioning Applications (OS)“Online Services/Functioning Applications” is a key indicator of the development of digital
government. The achievements of the digital government include electronic services, or products /services that the government provides to citizens, and positions electronic services as the interface ofthe digital government.
The growth of the nation as a digital government is measured by the increase in online
services and the level of services (information, download forms, transactions, electronic payments).
The Digital Government Ranking currently evaluates five major online services, including eprocurement, electronic tax payments, electronic payments, one-stop services, and e-health. These are
the basic services among online services. In order to cover and better evaluate online services, theinstitute plans to expand many online service evaluations in future rankings.
In this ranking, Denmark and South Korea ranked first. They have obtained full scores for
all items. The UAE has been in the top 10 since last year. UAE can be seen strengthening online
services.
Table 6. Progress of various online applications and services (OS)Ranking

Country/economy

OS-Score

1

Denmark

12.0001South Korea

12.0003

Estonia11.7603

Iceland11.7605

Canada11.6406

United Arab Emirates

11.4007Singapore

11.3407UK

11.3407

Finland11.34010

Belgium

11.3104. National Portal/Homepage (NPR)
A national portal (one-stop service) is defined as a place where governments can integrate
all e-services and access them through a single gateway. It is also the primary interface for stakeholders
to access government electronically.
26

Through national portals, governments provide users of public services with many benefits,
from citizens and businesses to the public managers themselves, including faster, cheaper and better
services. One-stop services in the public sector are one of the most promising concepts of service
provision in government. The implementation of national portals is included in the digital government
strategies of most countries.
In this ranking, Denmark is ahead of the others and ranked first. The United Kingdom, theUnited States, Estonia and Sweden follow in second place with the same score.
Table 7. Convenience of homepage and portal site (NPR)
Ranking

Country/economy

NPR-Score1

Denmark

8.727

2

UK

8.000

2

USA

8.000

2

Estonia

8.000

2

Sweden8.000

6New Zealand

7.867

6

Finland

7.867

6

Chile

7.867

9

Canada7.852

10Netherlands

7.733

5．Government CIO(GCIO)
In this digital government ranking, the government CIO index has been introduced as animportant index in the evaluation of digital governments in each country for the first time this year.
Government CIOs are expected to balance digital strategy, organizational reform and overall
optimization, play an important role in planning and implementation, and in recent years are also
expected to focus on digital government DX. Government CIOs will lead DX efforts and implement
digital technology, research, and workflow methodologies to bring speedy digital transformation to
government agencies. This indicator assesses the role of the Information Technology Department indigital government planning, development, and implementation, as well as its contribution to thetransformation of traditional management models into DX applications.
Table 8. Government CIO Activity (GCIO)
Ranking

Country/economy

GCIO-Score

1

Singapore

10.000

1

USA

10.0001

Japan

10.000

4

UK

9.545
27

5

Hong Kong

9.318

6

Estonia

9.091

7Canada8.182

7South Korea

8.182

7

Ireland8.182

10

Denmark

8.000

This time, Singapore, the United States and Japan got the highest scores. Singapore and theUnited States continue hold the number one rank from last year. In Japan, the Digital Agency wasestablished on September 1, 2021. Along with that, the name of Government CIO position became the“Digital Officer”. The Digital Officer is a position equivalent to the Administrative Vice-Minister inother central ministries and agencies, assists the "Digital Minister" who oversees the Digital Agency
under the Prime Minister, and supervises the overall operations of the Digital Agency. Against thebackground of the authority of the Digital Agency, the Digital Officer is expected to play a role indemonstrating leadership in comprehensive coordination through joint projects with each ministry andpromoting administrative DX by making use of experience in the private sector. This point was highly
evaluated, and Japan ranked first in this indicator this time.
6．D-government Promotion (EPRO)
This indicator measures government activity towards promoting digital government anddistributing e-services to citizens, businesses and other stakeholders. This includes activities related
to supporting the implementation of digital government, such as legal frameworks and mechanisms(laws, plans, policies, strategies). These activities are carried out by the government to support thedevelopment of electronic services and the development of the digital government as a whole.
New Zealand and Taiwan have won first place due to the success of their digital strategy incombatting COVID-19. Continuing from the previous time, Japan ranked fourth in the promotion
index of the digital government. The government has succeeded in promoting services and utilities
that use the Internet to provide public services. In addition, with the establishment of the Digital
Agency, the action plan of the digital government has been updated, and it is highly evaluated that it
will be strategically promoted, such as cooperation between the central and local governments,
standardization of systems, and utilization of advanced technology.
Table 9. Digital Government Strategy and Promotion (EPRO)
Ranking

Country/economy

EPRO-Score

1

New Zealand

10.000

1

Taiwan10.0003Netherlands

9.839
28

4

Singapore

9.677

4

Japan

9.677

6

Denmark

9.516

6

Kazakhstan

9.516

8

UK

9.355

8

USA

9.355

8

Hong Kong

9.355

7. E-participation /Digital Inclusion (EPAR)
Citizen participation in government through ICT is one of the application examples of ICT
to expand participation in digital government. When people can connect and speak to government
through digital projects, the administrative policy process becomes more transparent and consistent.
This process may involve management, service delivery, decision making, and policy making.
In this ranking, Denmark, Singapore, the United States, Estonia and the United ArabEmirates each are tied for the highest rating. Denmark has succeeded in digitizing almost 100%, whileproviding a hybrid service that retains the conventional administrative services for the vulnerable andelderly.
Estonia has already fully fulfilled its role as a leading country for the digital government,
and the laying of broadband, digital strategy, and attraction of business investment play a part in the
country's digital strategy. There were differences in the administrative participation of citizens in
COVID-19 measures in each country.
Table 10. Enrichment of Citizens' Participation in Government by ICT (EPRA)
Ranking

Country/economy

EPAR-Score

1

Denmark

10.0001

Singapore

10.000

1

USA

10.0001

Estonia

10.0001

United Arab Emirates

10.0006

Finland

9.800

6France

9.800

8

UK

9.600

8

Taiwan9.600

10New Zealand

9.500

29

8. Open Government (OGD)Open government is a barometer of the openness of specific government data to citizens,businesses, and other ministries. Denmark, Singapore, the United Kingdom, New Zealand and Taiwan
are at the top of the ranking. This time Taiwan has made great strides.
The United Kingdom has earned a high reputation as a digitally advanced country. Most
administrative procedures have already been completed online in the UK. It has been ranked secondin the 2019 OECD Digital Government Index and first in the 2016 World Wide Web Foundation Open
Data Barometer. The websites of each UK government agency are integrated into GOV.UK, and you
can apply for various subsidies and passports. In addition, the National Health Service of the UK
medical system has its own website, and COVID-19 was able to complete the vaccination reservation/change procedure on that website. One of the factors behind the success of digitalization in the UK isthe collaboration with private businesses through open government.
Table 11. Open Government (OGD)
Ranking

Country/economy

OGD-Score1

Denmark

10.0001

Singapore

10.0001

UK

10.0001

New Zealand

10.000

1

Taiwan10.0006South Korea

9.900

7

Canada9.800

8Australia

9.750

8

Sweden9.750

8Netherlands

9.750

9. Cyber Security (CYB)
An important issue in promoting digital government is cyber security. Sufficient security
measures have been taken in Denmark, Singapore, Canada, Switzerland and Austria, which were tied
for first place this time.
Also, although not ranked in the top ten this time, the latest US State Department report hasannounced that it will create a cyber-station to take charge of cyberspace and digital policy. The UnitedStates has announced a policy of strengthening its response to cyber-attacks as ransomware attacks on
infrastructure become more serious. The US cyber bureau has "cyber security" that includes
negotiations and deterrence with allies and hostile countries, a "digital policy" that promotes thecreation of reliable communication networks, and "digital freedom" that protects human rights online.
In these three fields, future progress is expected.
30

Table 12. Cyber Security (CYB)
Ranking

Country/economy

CYB-Score1

Denmark

10.0001

Singapore

10.0001

Canada10.000

1

Switzerland

10.000

1

Austria

10.0006

Estonia

9.900

6New Zealand

9.900

6

Iceland

9.900

6Norway

9.900

10

UK

9.800

10．The use of Emerging ICT (EMG)
The role of innovation in this area is to serve all citizens and businesses using the Internet
and telecommunications networks. Today, the development of many new technologies, such as the IoT,
helps people access government services through a variety of devices such as computers, smartphones
and tablets. Cloud computing also helps facilitate connections between governments and citizens. Big
data helps governments optimize their services. Therefore, it is believed that these technologies should
always be implemented by the government in the highest priority.
The United States, which has Silicon Valley, is the base for application creation, was ranked
first as it was last year. The United States has also appointed a new envoy in charge of emerging
technologies to promote government digitization and has begun coordinating international policies on
artificial intelligence, quantum computers, biotechnology and more. Singapore and the United
Kingdom were ranked second.
In Japan, the use of advanced technologies such as smarter local public organizations, digitaladministrative services utilizing AI and RPA, etc., contributing to cost efficiency, work style reform,
digital investment, and optimal allocation of human resources, etc. was evaluated and entered the tenthplace.
Table 13. Advanced ICT Utilization (EMG)
Ranking

Country/economy

EMG-Score

1

USA

7.500

2

Singapore

7.000

2

UK

7.000

4

Canada6.500

5Denmark

6.000
31

5

Taiwan6.000

5Finland

6.000

5

Switzerland

6.000

5

Belgium

6.000

10

Japan

5.500

32

D.

Ranking by international organization andregion1. Digital Government Ranking in APEC Economy
Japan dropped from fourth place in the previous year to sixth place. New Zealand and South
Korea, which attracted attention for COVID-19 measures, came in fourth and fifth place. Chinese
Taipei ranked seventh as before, and Thailand ranked ninth as an ASEAN other than Singapore.
Instead, Hong Kong dropped from the top ten. In the lower ranks, China, which was 15th in theprevious year, came in 19th, following Indonesia, Vietnam, Mexico, and Chile. Brunei, 13th lastyear, dropped to 15th and became a lower group. Vietnam, Mexico, Chile and Peru have somefluctuations in ranking but no major changes.
Table 14. Digital Government Rankings in the APEC Economy
Ranking

APECEconomy

7

Chinese Taipei

14

Indonesia

1Singapore

8

Australia

15

Brunei2

USA

9

Thailand

16

Vietnam3

Canada10

Russia

17

Chile

4

New Zealand

11

Hong Kong

18

Mexico

5

Korea

12

Philippines

19

China

6

Japan

13

Malaysia

20

Peru

2. Digital Government Rankings in OECD Countries
In the OECD group, the top three are Denmark, the United Kingdom, and the United Statesin that order. Australia, which was in the top 5 of the previous year, dropped to 9th place, and Canada,
which was 7th last year, moved up to 4th place, and Estonia moved from 4th to 5th place.
Japan ranked down from 6th place to 8th place in the previous year. New Zealand and South
Korea came in there. New Zealand is up 5 ranks from 11th place in the previous year. Notable moves
inthe

middlegroup

includethe rise of 4 ranks

inthe Netherlands andthedowngrade from 10th to 15th in Norway. Turkey stands out in the lower group, from 24th in theprevious year to 29th (lowest in this group).

33

Table 15. Digital Government Rankings in OECD Countries

Rank

OECD

10

Sweden21

Belgium

countries

11

Finland

22

Spain

1

Denmark

12

Netherlands

23

Portugal

2

UK

13

Switzerland

24

Israel3

USA

14

Iceland

25

Czech

4

Canada15

Norway26

Poland5

Estonia16

Ireland

27

Chile

6

New Zealand

17

Germany

28

Mexico7South Korea

18

Austria29

Turkey

8

Japan

19

France9Australia

20

Italy

3. Digital Government Rankings in European Countries
Denmark, the United Kingdom and Estonia remained in the top three, unchanged from theprevious year. The rank will be maintained continuously from 2018. Sweden in 4th place also
maintained the previous year. Here, the rise from the 10th place in the previous year to
the 6th place this year is conspicuous. In the middle group, Germany and France dropped out of
the top 10, and France moved from 9th to 13th in the previous year. Iceland (8th) and Ireland(10th) ranked in instead. Ireland was 15th in the previous year. In the lower group, Lithuania, which
was the lowest 21st place last year, has risen to 18th place.
Table 16. Digital Government Rankings in European Countries

Rank

European7

Switzerland

15

Belgium

countries

8

Iceland

16

Spain

1

Denmark

9

Norway17

Portugal

2

UK

10

Ireland18

Lithuania

3

Estonia

11

Germany

19

Czech

4

Sweden12Austria

20

Poland5Finland

13

France21

Romania

6

Netherlands

14

Italy

34

4. Digital Government Rankings in Africa, Middle East and CIS
Countries
The top three countries are United Arab Emirates, Russia, and Oman in thatorder. Oman rose from 6th place to 3rd place last year. Kazakhstan, which had been leading the groupuntil the previous year, has been downgraded to 5th place. It is also noteworthy that Saudi Arabia,
which was 10th in the previous year, rose to 4th place and South Africa, which was 12th in
the previous year, to 6th place. On the other hand, Morocco, which was the only African group to rank
in 9th place last year, came in 13th place.
The DX of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is noteworthy, as evaluated by national
indicators. It can be said that it is a country that has succeeded in promoting digitalization at a rapid
pace in the Corona disaster. In 2018, the Communications Regulatory Authority (TRA) aimed tobuild a framework for the maturity stage of the digital government through the " UAE Digital
Government Maturity Project". By 2021, we aim to improve medical care in terms of quality,
provide medical services to become one of the world's highest level countries, and build a safe andpowerful cyber security infrastructure for DX. We are updating the "National Cyber Security
Strategy" for the purpose of this.

Table 17. Digital Government Rankings in Africa, Middle East and CIS Countries

Ranking1

Africa / Middle

13

MoroccoEast

14

Nigeria/ CIS countries

15

Tunisia

UnitedArab

Emirates
2

Russia3

Oman

4

Saudi Arabia

5

Kazakhstan

6South Africa

7

Israel8

Turkey9Georgia

10

Bahrain

11

Kenya

12

Egypt
35

E.

Digital Agencies of 15 major countries
1. World-class digital policy and digital agency
Digital Agencies have become popular around the world. This report analyzes thecharacteristics of Digital Agencies in 15 countries(economies): Australia, Canada, China, Denmark,Estonia, Finland, Germany, Russia, Singapore, South Korea, Sweden, Taiwan, Thailand, the United
Kingdom, and the United States. Below is a list of digital ministries and agencies in each country(economy).
Table18. Digital government-related promotion organization1[Denmark] Agency for Digitization (Ministry of Finance)2[UK] The Government Digital Service

3[Singapore] Govtech, Inforcomm Media Development Authority (IMDA)

4[Finland] Ministry of Finance5[Estonia] Economical communication

6[Australia] Digital Transformation Agency

7[South Korea] Ministry of Interior and Safety (MOIS)

8[Sweden] Agency for Digital Government

9[China] State Council for the Department of Industry and Telecommunications

10[Russia] Digital development, communications and mass media

11

The [U.S.] GSA, US Digital Service

12[Canada] Digital Service

13[Taiwan] Digital Agency

14[Germany] The Federal Department of the Information Security

15[Thailand] Digital Government Development Agency (DGA)(1) Denmark
In the Waseda University Digital Government Rankings, Denmark was ranked 1st in 2018,

2nd in 2019/20, and now 1st in 2021. Denmark also topped the United Nations ranking in 2020.
Denmark’s relevant agency is The Agency for Digitization, a subdivision of the Ministry of Finance.
The Agency for Digitization (DA) is an institution involved in digitization strategies to benefit citizens
and businesses. The DA was launched in October 2011. The Waseda University team and the DA have
had meetings at DA’s Copenhagen headquarters twice to exchange views on digitalization. The DA
oversees ICT strategies such as D-government, cloud computing, standardization, digitization in the36health and welfare fields, and Green IT.
The Danish Agency for Digitization has the authority to promote digitization acrossministries. In addition, the government takes the initiative in establishing a mechanism and data
linkage platform to ensure the reliability of information and ability to cross-reference between
organizations. They will also actively work on decentralization reform. The DA strategy builds aunique balance between the central and local governments. The central government is also intervening
in the management data of local governments.
(2) United Kingdom
The Government Digital Service of the Cabinet Office handles digital government mattersin the United Kingdom. The UK ranked 4th in the previous Waseda University Digital Government
Ranking (2019/20). Two items, "portal site (homepage)" and "open government," were the mainindicators responsible for the previous decline in scores. This is evidence that some digital measuresin the UK are not progressing as expected. When evaluating the metrics comprehensively, the United
Kingdom has made good progress over the past year.
(3) Singapore
The Waseda University team has organized many meetings with Singapore's digital
government CIO, both CIO Khan and CIO Ho. CIO Ho has different stages at digital conferences allover the world. They have spoken about Singapore's digital government and discussed the role ofgovernment in smart nations. The Singaporean government has stated that "experience," "ecosystem,"and "community" are important for building smart cities and smart nations.
For example, regarding tax payment business, there was an adverse effect from verticallydivided administration. Tax filing was also difficult. However, at present, 92% of citizens declare byelectronic service rather than the analog service. As a result, harmful effects were reduced, and theprocedure became easier after digitalization. Regarding the transportation system, we researched thenumber of routes and stops between specific points during morning work commutes and calculated
the optimum operation plan. By detecting deficiencies of drainage ditches in advance, it was possible
to prevent the outbreak of mosquitoes in stagnant water and take measures to prevent dengue fever. It
is important for the government to analyze how to deal with problems by foreseeing problems throughthese systems. It is difficult to start a business in a small country like Singapore. Therefore, thegovernment office displays the issues every three months, and the small and medium-sized enterprises
present solutions to them, match them, and create a cooperative relationship. High potential companies
were presented with an example of an ecosystem that would allow the government to certify
companies and participate in bids for public services. Singapore is a very strong country in terms ofcommunity, and in the event of an emergency, an app provides information that allows you to37immediately go to a rescue site and using these measures approximately 2000 people have been saved
so far.
The biggest challenge in Singapore is the digital divide, and the government is developing
education and enlightenment programs. They are working to make the digital ecosystem
understandable for more people. The goal is to create a meaningful community by utilizing experienceand ecosystem.
(4) Finland
Finland is one of the countries with the highest broadband penetration rates in Europe.
Within the OECD, Finland was an early adopter of digital government initiatives. Based oninternational comparisons, impressive results have been achieved. Finland's digital government iscooperating with three ministries: the Ministry of Transport and Communications, the Ministry of
Finance and the Ministry of Justice. The Ministry of Finance is responsible for central policymaking
on administrative reform and the development of general ICT and digital government strategies. The
public sector ICT, which is part of the province level government, is leading the overall developmentof the digital government. Finland has established the Ubiquitous Information Society Advisory Board,
headed by the Minister of Transport and Communications, with the participation of representatives ofmajor ministries, businesses and scholars to maximize cooperation between government agencies.
(5) Estonia
Estonia, which has always placed in the top 10 in the D-government world ranking, has 99%
of its administrative services completed online, and the D-government bill that passed in 2014 makes
it easy to apply regardless of nationality. It has become possible to open corporate and bank accounts
without being an Estonian citizen. Since the 2000s, Estonia has digitized many administrative
procedures such as resident registration and tax payment, and has become able to receive various
services online 24 hours a day. With one national ID number, people can use it as a driver's license or
health insurance card, and people can complete their tax return in just a few minutes. 95% of tax
returns are completed online, and online voting exceeds 40% in the 2019 parliamentary elections. The
current responsible agency is Digital Agency(6) Australia
In July 2015, the Australian Government established the Digital Transformation Office(DTO) as an internal agency of the Ministry of Communications to promote the digitization ofadministrative services. In October 2016, the DTO was reorganized into the Cabinet Office andrenamed to "DX Agency (Digital Transformation Agency (DTA)". DTA started the operation of an ID
program called "myGovID" that can be used across various electronic administrative services in38

October 2018. myGovID became available through the iOS app in June 2019, and as of the end ofJune 2019, 11,785 downloads and 6,676 IDs have been created. DTA is also promoting international
cooperation, and in August 2019, it signed a memorandum of understanding with Vietnam aimed atcooperating in promoting D-government and digital transformation.
(7) South Korea
The Ministry of Interior and Safety is the agency responsible for digital government in the
Republic of Korea. Usability-oriented systems have been launched, such as the installation of ATMtype digital service equipment in the city so that people can easily benefit from digital administration.
They have been developing a common framework for public-private partnerships from an early stage,
and are building a mechanism for local governments to use the system formulated by the central
government. In addition, they are actively introducing advanced technology, taking security measuresusing AI and surveillance cameras, actively working on blockchain utilization in the trade and realestate fields, digital employee concept, personal authentication by biometrics, etc.
(8) Sweden
In Sweden, the Data Protection Agency plays an important role among government
ministries. Much effort has been made by the Swedish government to promote digital government.
These activities are found at both the central and local government levels. In October 2015, theGovernment established an Advisory Board for Digital Government. This committee is made up of
high-level public sector decision makers whose mission is to advise on digital government policy. In
addition, regular meetings and events were held at the municipal level to promote various aspects ofdigital government. These events gave Sweden a high score in the digital government promotion
indicator of Waseda University World Digital Government Ranking Survey.
It is worth noting that any information is provided on national portals. This case shows thatnational information and available services should be included in the national portal as a one-stop
gateway for residents and foreigners. Being a country with many well-known technology companies
such as Ericsson, the government recommends using new technologies for public sector operations.
(9) China
In the Waseda University World Digital Government Ranking Survey, it is noteworthy that
China is advancing the digitization of government with a sense of speed, although its ranking is nothighly evaluated. The department of Industry and Telecommunications in the State Council is further
deepening the "Internet Plus administrative services" -A plan to promote reform of administrative
services. The "One Net, One Door, Once" was formulated in June 2018, and they aim to realize it aseasily as possible.
39

By the end of 2019, they basically realized "one net, one door, once" for priority fields and frequently
used items. For "One Net", the online procedure enablement rate for provincial-level administrative
services shall be 90% or more, and the same ratio for city / prefectural-level administrative services
shall be 70% or more. Regarding "One Door", except for items that have special requests for thelocation, it is basically possible to transfer to the general substantive administrative lobby, and for 70%
or more of administrative services, "One window" reception will be realized. Regarding "Once", thereduction of materials required for window procedures by 60% or more and realize "Once" with 100
items that are frequently used in each level of provinces, cities, and prefectures. It is also characterized
by the fact that it develops digital services by utilizing private technology on a city-by-city basis, andthat the authority of local governments such as states and provinces is strong. In addition, the central
government is not responsible for the reliability of data, but a mechanism is in place to share data
managed by local governments with each other and with the central government.
In October 2019, in response to a request from the D-government officer of the ChineseState Council to learn about advanced cases of D-government from Japan, training was conducted at
the Institute of D-Government at Waseda University. The Chinese was interested in the establishmentof a mechanism in Japan's e-government, the division and determination of responsibilities, theinstitutional design, the general situation of laws and regulations, and the systematic arrangement andsharing of administrative office information systems. It also includes a model for constructing an
administrative office information system, sharing of administrative office data, security by laws andsystems, information security, and assessment / evaluation. In addition, regarding the status of online
administrative services, the establishment model of the online administrative service platform, online
processing of administrative services, online and offline fusion (OMO: Online Merges with Offline),
citizen personal information data security, and technical realization. They are also interested in thestatus of all monitoring related to the market entity, such as environmental protection and safe
production at this moment.
(10) Russia
The current government body for digital government is the Ministry of Digital Development,
Communications and Mass media. Russia has promoted the Federal Information Society Plan 20112020. The first information society plan was implemented in 2000, and the D-government played apart in it. "E-Russia" was carried out from 2001 to 2010, but the results were unsatisfactory. The major
problem is the delay in establishing legal rules. In addition, usability is not evaluated for inefficient
infrastructure, and many other problems such as insufficient ICT skills of national government
employees have piled up. In 2021, both the government and Moscow city are creating the Smart city
concept for future city planning.

40

(11) United States
In the 2019/20 digital government ranking, the United States won the top spot for the firsttime in five years. A large budget has been prepared for science and technology with AI and its
applications by GAFA and other super-IT companies. The common data of the main society called the"base registry" announced in 2019. Digitalization was placed as a pillar of this strategy. Since theUnited States is a large digital nation with Silicon Valley, the president takes the initiative in digitalpolicy. In 1992, it was former President Bill Clinton who started the D-government, which was thefirst stage of the digital government. And in recent years, during the time of former President Obama,
the active Federal Chief Information Officer (Federal CIO) was appointed to build an enterprisearchitecture (EA) to ensure interoperability and information sharing of federal systems, information
security and privacy. They are developing data standards to improve the consistency and crossreference of data management. The Biden administration has hired active CIO at the Presidential officefor deployment of AI oriented DX.
(12) Canada
Canada ranked 4th in the world ranking 2021. Canada activates a digital ministry-centric
policy. The Minister of Digital Service is responsible for overseeing digital government activities in
Canada. The Minister for the government sector is responsible for managing and maintaining
information technology and services throughout the government ministries of Canada. Canada isputting the priority of DX for government and private sectors(13) Taiwan
In October 2019, the World Annual Meeting of the International Academy of CIO was heldin Taiwan, and the Minister without Portfolio Audrey Tang, in charge of digital promotion, who
suddenly became a "person of time" in measures against corona, made a speech. Minister Tan's rolein digital world is "technology that is close to people." Minister Tan's idea is novel and colorful. Thistime, the technology that quickly helped ease Covid restrictions is "Civic Tech," which supports thedigitization of government. In collaboration with a community organization that aims to solve social
issues with ICT, they solve the issues by making full use of ICT from the standpoint of "citizens".
Minster Tan said that the goal for digital is to be close to humans' lives and that many people should
benefit from technology rather than forcing people who are not good at ICT.
(14) Germany
The national D-government strategy was formulated in September 2010. This aims topromote D-government by cooperating with federal, state, and local governments while utilizing ICT
beyond the framework of organizations. In addition, in the "Digital Agenda" and "Digital Strategy
412025", the digitization of government has been positioned as one of the important policies. In Germany,
the world's largest ICT trade fair "CeBIT" is held every year in Hanover. Recently, it seems that it has
surrendered its position to another ICT fair, Mobile World Congress held in Barcelona, Spain. But, thevenue of CeBIT is Hannover Messe, which is the largest exhibition space in the world. Since joining
in 2012, the Waseda University team always has visited the "Urban Solutions" corner, which exhibition
imitates the smartening of society that comprehensively captures big urban problems and digitalcommunities issues and aims to integrate infrastructure and applications such as electronic local
governments, disaster prevention, ITS, and cyber security. It was an exhibition where you can feel thetrue value of electronic local governments and smart digital cities policies in Germany.
(15) Thailand
In 2016, the name of the relevant agency was changed from the "Ministry of Information
Technology and Communications" to the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society. The Ministry of
Digital Economy and Society has a wide range of responsibilities for national information technology
and communications, and after the name change to the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society, it
will also work on planning and promotion in the digital economy and society. The Minister of Digital
Economy and Society will be the head of the ministry. The Ministry of Digital Economy and Societyof Thailand has drafted AI ethical guidelines. The purpose of creating the guidelines is to improve thecompetitiveness of Thailand based on the 20-year National Strategic Plan (2018-37).
On December 13, 2018, a seminar was held at Thammasat University on the theme of digital
innovation co-sponsored by the Electronic Government Agency (EGA), the Faculty of Innovation,
Thammasat University, and the International Academy of CIO. One of the speakers, EGA President
Sack said: "Regarding the De-Government Project from 2016 to 2021, 80% of the current 400
government agencies will be digitized during the five years of the project period, and various
registration and tax payment procedures can be done with a digital ID. The Digital ID was distributed
in 2018. It was used initially in the financial field. A Digital ID can be used to open an account, andbanks can check customers in the government database. The utilization of open data will also be started
as part of the project. Also, Utilization of data analysis by AI for policies, plans, budgets has started.
The goal is to promote paperless and cashless in 5 years and strengthen business competitiveness.
EGA is considering the use of AI as the next step. In terms of legislation, the aim is to enforce digital
government law in the near future, simplify data exchange between ministries, and increasetransparency. Also, in 2018 DGA built the Government Secure Intranet to strengthen network security
within the government. "A year later, on January 30, 2019, President Sack of DGA at the Office of the Prime
Minister's cabinet office shifted from EGA, MICT in Bangkok. DGA is promoting the digitization ofadministrative documents ahead of the enactment of the "Government Digital Act" in March 2019.
42

Currently, copying administrative service documents costs 1 billion baht per year, and 151 government
agencies have already practiced the need to submit copies, providing information to citizens via mobile
apps and business licenses via the web. That could be expected to reduce the budget by 3 billion baht.
Digital national IDs and online real estate registration are also planned. Over the next three years, they
aim to further promote paperless operations and move up to 20th place in the World Bank's businessenvironment ranking. Blockchain technology will be used to exchange digital documents among
government agencies. DGA plans to integrate these data and analyze them with AI, and set up an AI
committee to formulate its strategy. Dr Supot introduced the new scheme for IoT-Big Data-A l- linkage
for DX.

43

F.

Highlights of 10 Major Global Issues

1. Digital Inclusion, Citizen centric and ID◆ Advance digital ID
The spread of applications for digital national ID systems is a major trend in 2021. In
Singapore, facial recognition technology was introduced to the national ID "Sing Pass" starting in
2021. The registered person's face enables recognition of administrative and banking procedures
without using a traditional card. Sing-pass also supports digital signatures of legal documents.
In India, the penetration rate of the biometric national ID "Ardar" system reached 99% inJune 2021. Ardar uses multi-path biometrics that combine fingerprint, iris, and facial recognition
technology. Ardar uses equipment from NEC, a Japanese company, for biometric authentication. In
Thailand, the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society, is working on planning and promotion in thedigital economy and society and has drafted AI ethical guidelines. The purpose of creating theguidelines is to improve the competitiveness of Thailand based on the 20-year National Strategic Plan
(2018-37).
On December 13, 2018, a seminar was held at Thammasat University on the theme of digital
innovation co-sponsored by the Electronic Government Agency (EGA), the Faculty of Innovation,
Thammasat University, and the International Academy of CIO. One of the speakers, EGA President
Sack said: "Regarding the De-Government Project from 2016 to 2021, 80% of the current 400
government agencies will be digitized during the five years of the project period, and various
registration and tax payment procedures can be done with a digital ID. The Digital ID was distributed
in 2018. It was used initially in the financial field. A Digital ID can be used to open an account, andbanks can check customers in the government database. The utilization of open data will also be started
as part of the project. Also, Utilization of data analysis by AI for policies, plans, budgets has started.
The goal is to promote paperless and cashless in 5 years and strengthen business competitiveness.
EGA is considering the use of AI as the next step. In terms of legislation, the aim is to enforce digital
government law in the near future, simplify data exchange between ministries, and increasetransparency. Also, in 2018 DGA built the Government Secure Intranet to strengthen network security
within the government. "A year later, on January 30, 2019, President Sack of DGA at the Office of the Prime
Minister's cabinet office shifted from EGA to the MICT in Bangkok. DGA is promoting the digitizationof administrative documents ahead of the enactment of the "Government Digital Act" in March 2019.
Currently, copying administrative service documents costs 1 billion baht per year, and 151 government
agencies have already practiced the need to submit copies, providing information to citizens via mobile
apps and business licenses via the web. That could be expected to reduce the budget by 3 billion baht.
44

Digital national IDs and online real estate registration are also planned. Over the next three
years, they aim to further promote paperless operations and move up to 20th place in the World Bank's
business environment ranking. Blockchain technology will be used to exchange digital documents
among government agencies. The DGA plans to integrate these data and analyze them with AI and set
up an AI committee to formulate its strategy. President Supot Tirawut introduced a new scheme for
IoT-Big Data-A l- linkage for DX.

2. Privacy protection◆ Amazon will be subject to maximum fines after EU GDPR enforcement
The EU currently has the strictest regulations on personal protection in the world. The
General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) came into effect in 2018. Personal information protection
laws that follow the GDPR are being developed and discussed in various countries around the world.
In recent months, two important sanctions have been imposed on US companies.
In July, Amazon was fined € 746 million by the Luxembourg data protection authorities forviolating the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Amazon's European headquarters arelocated in Luxembourg. This is the highest GDPR fine to date as of 2021. The highest amount prior tothis was a € 50 million fine imposed on Google by French data protection authorities in December
2019.
Amazon suggests a policy challenge. Amazon may have violated privacy regulations for
consumers who use online shopping. Second, it is possible that the Amazon’s products were given
preferential treatment over outside vendors that sell on the marketplace.
WhatsApp is famous for its messaging app, but in September 2020 the Irish Data Protection
Commission (DPC) decided to impose a fine of € 225 million for violating the GDPR. DPC found
WhatsApp violated GDPR by not properly informing users how WhatsApp shares personal
information with its parent company Facebook. WhatsApp suggests a policy to file a complaint.
Under the GDPR, data protection authorities can impose fines up to 4% of global annual
sales for companies that mishandle data. The fine on Amazon is equivalent to 0.2% of Amazon's 2020
sales.
◆ World movement
In the United States, although federal-level regulation is sluggish, state-level regulation ismoving forward in some Democratic states. There are moves to strengthen privacy protection in New
York, where large companies are gathered, and in Washington State, where Microsoft and Amazon areheadquartered. Among those states that have adopted privacy legislation, the state that first enforced
the privacy protection law is California. The California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) came into force
in January 2020, and the amendment was passed in November 2020. The California Privacy Rights
45

Act (CPRA) will come into force in January 2023.
In Japan as well, a bill to amend the Personal Information Protection Law was passed during
the 2020 ordinary Diet session. The Personal Information Protection Law is less strict than either the
GDPR or CCPA.
In China, the Personal Information Protection Bill was passed in August 2021. The Personal
Information Protection Law will come into effect in November 2021. When a company collects
personal information, the law requires that in order to obtain biometric information, medical data,
financial accounts, location information, etc. a company must obtain the individual’s explicit consent.
This law restricts the transfer of information abroad. Therefore, when foreign companies handle
personal information of Chinese citizens, it is necessary to comply with new regulations. The new law
requires representatives to be assigned within China to report information gathering to regulators.
The new legislation in China has three purposes. First, the government protects consumers
by tightening regulations on businesses. Consumers can now turn off targeted advertising themselves.
Strengthening supervision is a recent trend in China. In August, the city of Beijing filed a lawsuit
against Tencent over gathering information on the WeChat app.
Second, it appeals to the world that the Chinese government is active in protecting personal
information. There has long been suspicion that Chinese apps are fraudulently stealing personal
information. The Chinese government's enforcement of strict personal information protection laws
will increase the reliability of Chinese-made apps.
Third, China can take advantage of new regulations to foster domestic high-tech companies.
It will be possible to overlook Chinese companies and crack down on foreign companies.
In Southeast Asia, Singapore enacted the revised Personal Information Protection Law in2020. In Malaysia, the Personal Information Protection Law enacted in 2010 complies with the GDPR.
In Thailand, the Personal Information Protection Law is scheduled to be fully enforced from June 2022.
A personal information protection bill is under deliberation in Indonesia. No legislation has been put
in place in Vietnam, but a government ordinance is scheduled to come into effect in December 2021.

3. Silver Innovation ICT / Digital Contribution to Improve Ageing
Society◆ Usage status of information and communication equipment for the elderly
The 2021 White Paper on Aging Society in Japan published the "International Comparative
Survey on the Life and Awareness of the Elderly". The survey clarified usage status of informationand communication equipment by the elderly. The usage rate of smartphones, tablets and PCs by theelderly in Japan is much lower than in the United States, Germany and Sweden. 14.9% of the elderly
in Japan use personal computer e-mail, which is lower than in other countries. In addition, the online
banking and government procedures utilization rate of elderly people in Japan is less than 10%. This46

is compared to the 70% rate in Sweden for elderly use of online banking. One in three seniors in the
United States and Sweden use online national and government procedures.
Regarding the reasons for not using information and communication equipment, manyelderly people in each country answered, "I don't know how to use it, so it's troublesome" and "I don't
feel the need." In Japan, the number of people who answered "I don't feel the need" decreased from
70.4% to 49.2%, and the number of people who answered "I don't know how to use it, so it's
troublesome" increased from 26.8% to 50.3% compared to the survey five years ago.
Elderly people in Japan are feeling the need for information and communication equipment
more than before. However, many don't know how to use it, and therefore think it's troublesome.
Operating smartphones and personal computers can be a major hurdle for the elderly. Going forward,
it is important to increase the IT literacy of the elderly.

Information and communication equipment that elderly people usually use(multiple answers)
Japan

U.S.

Germany

SwedenTV

80.20%

80.70%

92.00%

79.90%

Smartphone

44.50%

62.60%

65.20%

58.80%

Tablet10.60%

40.40%

27.70%

43.30%

PCs

31.10%

62.90%

43.90%

53.00%

2021 White Paper on Aging Society
From December 2020 to January 2021, a survey was conducted on men and women over the age of 60(1,367 in Japan, 1,006 in the United States, 1,043 in Germany, and 1,528 in Sweden).

Details of use of information and communication equipment (multiple answers)
Japan

U.S.

Germany

SwedenContact us via computer e-mail14.90%

63.40%

41.20%

49.60%

Collecting information and shopping on

31.70%

64.30%

56.90%

67.90%Net banking and financial transactions

7.70%

47.60%

33.10%

72.40%

Internet-like national and administrative

6.70%

34.40%

19.40%

34.50%

the Internet

procedures
2021 White Paper on Aging Society (Japan)◆ ICT services for the elderly
Services that exist to connect the elderly and ICT include services in which the main target
is a senior who lives with a family member or a long-term care provider, and services in which themain target is the elderly. Examples of the former are watching services and nursing care robots that47

use ICT equipment. Examples of the latter include home-based telemedicine services, online
supermarkets, and meal delivery.
The Japanese government will promote DX support for long-term care providers. Long-termcare providers who have introduced ICT equipment are given preferential treatment with long-termcare fees. Examples of ICT equipment are watching equipment, income, and long-term care recording
software. Although deregulation was carried out in 2021, the introduction is not progressing muchbecause the system still requires strict operating conditions. More thorough deregulation is expected
to promote Silver DX.
◆ Measures for the elderly in China
In China, as a measure for the elderly, consideration will be given to people who cannot use
digital devices and smartphone use will be promoted. For Cashless payments, which are widespreadin China, the Chinese government requires retailers to also accept cash payments. This considers
people who cannot use smartphones.
A volunteer system will be established for teaching how to use smart devices to the elderly.
Manned counters and telephone reservations are maintained at tourist destinations and exhibition
facilities. Face-to-face and cash payments are maintained in housekeeping and long-term care services.
As a measure to promote digital devices, the Ministry of Industry and Information
Technology instructed application developers to develop designs that are easy for the elderly to use
and versions for the elderly in November 2020. It covers 43 apps and 115 sites. In addition, somepublic facilities, including public toilets, require users to present a QR code that indicates their healthstatus. There was created a digital divide because those without smartphones could not use the facilities.
Currently, public facilities have also begun to accommodate people who do not have smartphones.
At the National People's Congress in March 2021, Prime Minister Li Keqiang addressed thatsmart devices should not interfere with the daily lives of the elderly. The Internet usage rate of middleaged and older people in China is lower than that of Japan. Measures for the elderly will become more
important over time.

4. Booming environment-friendly smart digital city construction◆ New Boom for Smart city in Japan
In Japan, one of the local governments aiming for a super city is "Smart City AiCT" inAizuwakamatsu City. AiCT has 36 companies in the office. The office, which opened in April 2019,was fully booked in September 2021. Accenture, which has previously conducted a project with
Aizuwakamatsu City, will play a central role. Aizuwakamatsu City will develop various citizen
services by utilizing the urban OS developed by Accenture. Aizuwakamatsu City has adopted an optin method in which data is provided only to the citizens who agree. Aizuwakamatsu City positions
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healthcare as a priority field and promotes shortening of hospital stay time and extension of healthy
life expectancy. The entire region is regarded as a virtual institution responsible for health management,
medical care, and long-term care. The facility will have latest digital technologies such as healthmanagement / status monitoring, AI family doctors, and AI hospitals will be utilized.
◆ Smart city development progresses in ASEAN and other Asian countries
In ASEAN, the ASEAN Smart City Network was launched in 2018. Select cities frommember countries and focus on smart cities. In Vietnam, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh and Da Nang werechosen. Vinhomes, a subsidiary of Vingroup, the largest conglomerate in the country, is developing
smart cities in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. A camera with a face recognition function equipped with
AI will be installed in the area. An intelligent disaster prevention system and an air pollution
environment pollution warning system will be installed. In connection with the development of smart
cities in Southeast Asia, Japan, China, and South Korea will each sign a memorandum of
understanding with ASEAN to promote their own smart city technology.
The Smart city project implementation countries are India, Uganda, Cambodia, Thailand,
Vietnam and Mauritius. For example, Vietnam will introduce a water quality information provisionapp, and Thailand will verify the feasibility of utilizing AI technology in tap water channel
management. Mauritius will use the urban operating system developed by Accenture to centrally
manage multidimensional data on disasters. By combining various data acquired for disasterprevention purposes with urban infrastructure data, it is possible to formulate disaster prevention plans
more efficiently.
Based on the US-ASEAN Smart City Partnership, the United States will promote theinvolvement of the US private sector and support research and development. In August 2021, US Vice
President Harris visited Singapore and published her fact sheet. In the section on expanding
collaboration in smart cities, it was stated that a green building program would be established topromote green building standards. In the field of cyber security, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministryof Defense, and the Cyber Security Department of both countries have signed a memorandum of
understanding for bilateral cooperation.
◆ Challenges of smart cities
Here are two issues for smart city development. First, it is important for residents to reachconsensus. Since smart cities use a large amount of data about residents, residents of smart cities needto provide various personal information. When a new smart city is built, it is possible to move inresidents who have agreed in advance. On the other hand, when an existing city becomes a smart city,
residents who are positive about providing personal information and residents who are cautious aboutproviding personal information coexist in that city. Residents' understanding of the provision of49

personal information is essential for the promotion of smart cities.
Third, we must aim for smart city development that can achieve the SDGs. Developmentthat promotes global warming and environmental destruction should not be allowed in return for new
urban development. Placing a lot of foliage is not just environmentally friendly. Analysis andevaluation based on strict environmental standards are required at the construction, maintenance, anddemolition stages of smart cities.

5. 5th Generation Digital Government- A new e-government thatmakes full use of 5G
According to Ericsson's announcement, the number of 5G subscription contracts worldwide
for 5G compatible devices increased by 70 million in the first quarter of 2021, reaching about 290
million. The number of contracts will increase to 580 million by the end of 2021 and is expected toreach 1 billion by the end of 2022. 5G is gaining widespread adoption at a faster pace than 4G. 5G
population coverage is projected to reach 25% in 2021 and reach 60% in 2026. However, population
coverage does not mean that one can always connect with 5G within a 5G area. It is highly likely thatthe mainstream connection method in the first half of the 2020s will be 4G. Considering the predictionthat 6G will be put into practical use around 2030 and will not spread worldwide, 5G will become themainstream connection method from the latter half of the 2020s to the 2030s.
◆ 5G development in Asia
In some Asian nations, the government is deeply involved in 5G strategies.
In Vietnam, the military-affiliated telecommunications company Viettel has developed 5G
telecommunications equipment. Four major domestic companies share Viettel’s 5G equipment. Viettel
provided Vietnam's first 5G communication service in December 2020. Domestic production of 5G
equipment is important in national security. In addition, Viettel is eager to export 5G equipment.
China aims for the rapid spread of 5G networks. According to the announcement by the
Chinese government, as of the end of March 2021, the number of 5G base stations in China was
891,000, accounting for 70% of the world total. By 2025, China's 5G-related investment is projected
to reach around 1.2 trillion yuan, and IT-related consumption is projected to reach 8 trillion yuan.
Malaysia made a major shift in its 5G policy in 2021. In the past, domestic
telecommunications companies were planning to develop their own 5G networks. However, due to thegovernment's policy change, each telecommunications company will share the 5G network built by
the government. The Malaysian government announced a contract with Ericsson in July 2021.
Building a 5G network led by the government is a method like that used in Vietnam. This policychange has two major implications. First, telecommunications companies can reduce the cost ofinvesting in 5G infrastructure, allowing consumers to use 5G at a lower rate. The second is to curb
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China's influence on 5G networks. Malaysia's four major mobile companies had contracts with Huawei
and ZTE for 5G infrastructure development. There are considerable efforts to keep Chinese companies
out of the 5G network in Europe and the United States. The United States is pressing countries aroundthe world to eliminate connections to Chinese companies. Among them, it was a security risk that 5 G
infrastructure was mostly made by Chinese companies.
Currently, there are few options for 5G communication equipment manufacturers. By
developing technology that combines products from multiple companies, telecommunications
companies can disperse various risks.

6. Spread of new technologies-blockchain and quantum computers◆ Blockchain
Investment in blockchain technology is increasing in China, the United States, and the EU.
The Chinese government will promote policies with the aim of making the blockchain industry partof the world's top industries by 2025. In June 2021, the Ministry of Industry and Information
Technology (MIIT) announced a roadmap for the spread of blockchain. By 2025, the Chinese
government will develop three to five internationally competitive companies and innovation leaders.
Blockchain clusters are formed by these companies. In 2030, the technology will be further improved,
and the scale of the industry will be expanded. Blockchain technology will strengthen manufacturing
and support the digital economy. In order to strengthen the blockchain industry, it is important tostrengthen the real economy through "supply chain management," "product traceability," and "datasharing." Blockchain technology will be used for applications in smart cities and for building data
sharing platforms for government services.
In the United States, major financial institutions such as Morgan, Citi, Wells Fargo, and US
Bancorp use blockchain technology. Other financial institutions will also consider cryptocurrencytransactions. According to a survey by a major bank, Bank of America, 21% of banks have somehow
incorporated blockchain technology into their operations. Many politicians and experts point out thatlegislation is inadequate for virtual currency transactions, which are typical financial transactions
using blockchain technology. Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren says investors face risks in theuncertain crypto market. She argues that the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) should
strengthen its authority.
In the EU, "INATBATA", an international standardization organization for blockchain, waslaunched in 2019. INATBATA aims to provide a global forum for blockchain developers and users tofurther promote the social application of blockchain.
In addition, the blockchain technical support project "TruBlo" will be held under the
initiative of the European Commission, the Next Generation Internet (NGI). To promote blockchain
technology research, TruBlo will provide partial and full funding for selected projects for three years
51from 2021. From 2021 to 2022, the EU will invest € 62 million to support top Internet innovators in
the areas of Internet trust and data sovereignty. These policies are based on the EU R & D support
framework "Horizon Europe" adopted in 2020. It will invest 80.9 billion euros in the seven years from2021 to 2027. Support projects will be implemented in fields such as AI / robotics, next-generation
Internet, quantum computers, and big data.
◆ Quantum computer
Regarding quantum computers, the United States, EU, and China will take the lead insupporting research and development. The US will spend up to $ 1.3 billion over the five years from2019. The EU will spend about 1 billion euros in 10 years from 2018. China will implement a researchplan of about 7 billion yuan over five years from 2016.
Japan formulated a quantum technology innovation strategy in January 2020. It will spend
55 billion yen in two years from 2020. The strategy proposed the formation of a quantum technology
innovation hub (international hub) and the establishment of a council on quantum technology. In linewith this strategy, the "New Industry Creation Council by Quantum Technology (Q-STAR)" wasestablished in September 2021 with the participation of 24 companies including Toyota, Toshiba, andNEC.

7. How D-Government Will Change with Covid and Post-Covid◆ The role of D-government in the Covid-19 disasterWith reference to the case of Japan, there are two points about the role of D-government in
the corona disaster.
First, various support systems will go online. The economy was severely damaged bylockdowns in other countries, requests for temporary closure of Japanese companies, and requests for
citizens to refrain from going out. Therefore, various support systems such as subsidies, benefits, andinterest-free loan services have been expanded. Online procedures are essential for the efficient
operation of the support system. Unfortunately, Japan has failed to bring such benefit procedures
online. The data sent was incompatible with the databases, requiring staff to re-enter the data. Somemunicipalities have requested mailing procedures instead of online procedures. This is because themailing process is ended up being faster than the online procedure. The system must be redesigned formore efficient online procedures. This is a national level policy, not a municipal level.
Second, new innovations have been created to combat Covid-19. Corona-infected person
tracking apps have been developed around the world. Gov-Tech is expected to grow in the market. It
will be the role of the government to foster Gov-Tech companies and sell them overseas.

52◆ With Corona
In Europe and the United States, the movement to regain daily life is becoming active. The
United Kingdom implemented a complete deregulation on July 19, 2021. By September 2021, thenumber of infected people has not increased sharply, but it tends to increase slightly. As of August 13,
76% of the population had completed the second vaccination. However, the average number of
infected people per day is 30,000 and the average number of deaths is 100, which is a number thatcannot be optimistic. Nevertheless, the British government has indicated that it will proceed with its
reopening policies.
The number of infected people in the United States shows a clear upward trend. In early
September, the average number of infected people was 150,000 per day, and the average number ofdeaths was 1,500 per day. There are 90 million unvaccinated people in the United States. To combat
this, vaccination or proof of testing are emphasized. New York City regulations from August 16, 2021
require users and employees to certify vaccination when entering indoor restaurants, fitness gyms, andindoor recreational facilities. Vaccination proof is also required for classical concerts with a quiet
audience. Proof methods include New York City's Coronavirus Safety App, Excelsior Pass (New York
City's electronic proof), and a CBC-issued vaccine card.

8. Relationship between global warming, climate change and disasters
and government measures◆ Disaster prevention DX
In the disaster prevention DX, there is an effort to convert the management of stored foodto DX. Most of the emergency food stockpiled by the local government is hard food that can be stored
for a long time, such as hard bread and biscuits. Such foods are difficult for the vulnerable infants andthe elderly to eat.
In the future, by sharing various data such as the place where residents live, the distance ofevacuation shelters, and road conditions with other local governments, Yoichi Town will be evacuatedto the safest evacuation shelter regardless of the boundaries of the city. The aim is to create amechanism by which this can be done. The introduction of a stockpiled food management system andthe accommodation of evacuation shelters and food between local governments are importantcomponents of the disaster prevention DX efforts.

9. DX (Digital Transformation) The actual situation of digitaltransformation◆ Digitization of regional economy
There is a trend of "digital regionalism" that connects the local economy and digitalization.
A community-based platform has been created to meet the demand for local production for local
53

consumption. One of the reasons is that the corona restrictions made it difficult to go out, and there
was a demand to support local shops and businesses. For example, in Quebec, Canada, there are ecommerce sites that handle local products, as well as carpooling services, bartering, and apps that
support local projects.
◆ Educational DX
DX in education has made great progress due to the corona virus. Online classes are offered
in China, the United States, and other countries around the world.
In Japan, universities and private schools started online classes in 2020. In public schools, manymunicipal schools that have declared a state of emergency and will offer real-time online lessons tostudents who are worried about attending school from the second semester of 2021. Many publicschools were unable to prepare real-time online lessons during the school closure last spring due toproblems with the communication environment and terminals. Instead, the school distributed lesson
videos taken by teachers to video sites and school board servers.
◆ Inauguration of the Digital Agency of Japan
In Japan, the Digital Agency was established on September 1st, 2021. The Digital Agency
has about 600 employees, 200 of whom were hired from the private sector. Regarding theestablishment of the Digital Agency, the appointment of engineers at the forefront of technology wasemphasized. Some workers continue to work part-time in the private sector or part-time at the Digital
Agency. The Digital Agency referred to Singapore's Gov-Tech, the UK's Cabinet Office Digital
Service (GDS), and the Danish Digital Agency for inspiration.
The Digital Agency has set the goal of "realizing a digital society where no one is left behind." This issimilar to the idea of UN SDGs. There is a strong need to help men and women of all ages benefit
from DX and access digital content.

10. United Nations SDGs and the role of the government◆ SDGs and ICT
The goals set out in the SDGs are compatible with ICT. For example, in order to solve foodshortages, it is necessary to improve efficiency and productivity through agriculture using ICT. Oneof the support mechanisms is to provide medical opportunities using a telemedicine system for the
spread of medical care. An advanced disaster prevention system using AI and IoT should be built to
respond to natural disasters. In addition to reducing the burden of housework on women, one of thesolutions is build or upgrade to smart homes through the spread of AI and IoT appliances. It is
important for the government to support the implementation of various projects that combine SDGs
and ICT both at home and abroad. Ten fields are envisioned as to complete the project. Infrastructure,54

agriculture and food, medical care, education, urban areas, basic living, finance, disaster prevention
environment, tourist exchange, and finally freedom from gender barriers.
In Japan, "Society 5.0" was proposed in the government's 5th Science and Technology Basic
Plan. Society5.0 is defined as a human-centric society that achieves both economic development andresolution of social issues through a system that highly integrates cyberspace and physical space.
Society 5.0 is positioned as a new form of society following the hunting society (Society 1.0),
agricultural society (Society 2.0), industrial society (Society 3.0), and information society (Society
4.0).

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F.

Methodology
For evaluating digital government development, this ranking survey is based on a group of

indicators to evaluate the overall digital government development in a country, ranging from policy
development and e-Services implementation to management optimization and digital government
promotion. To improve the evaluation of digital government development in a country, from 2010, theranking added an e-participation indicator. In 2014, Open Government Data and Cybersecurity werealso added to the ranking. In the 2017 Ranking, the research team added “the usage of emerging ICT
technologies”. It comprises a total of ten main indicators for evaluation.
Increasing the quality, the assessment used a questionnaire as a tool to obtain some
information from respondents who reside in the countries. The respondents are government officers
who work for a ministry that concerns digital government and, to some extent, respondents fromacademia who are knowledgeable in digital government. The questionnaire in the upcoming ranking
is mandatory. The score will use the feedback as additional information to mitigate the sample risk,
thus, reducing bias during scoring. The following explanation shows the due process that went intocreating the ranking.
Waseda International Digital Government Ranking is also based on clustering methods byclassifying countries according to the group, which has been demonstrated by organizations (APEC,
OECD), by the size of population and GDP, by regions (Asia-Pacific, Americas, European, Africa,
Middle East, and CIS countries

Formulation
The Raw Score is normalized to the 0-100 scale score using the following formula.
𝑁𝑜𝑟𝑚𝑆𝑐𝑜𝑟𝑒 =𝑅𝑎𝑤𝑆𝑐𝑜𝑟𝑒
× 100
𝑀𝑎𝑥𝑆𝑐𝑜𝑟𝑒

The raw score is the Score generated by averaging Score 0 and Score 1; MaxScore is the
maximum score of the sub-indicators.
This will generate the Normalized Score which ranges 0 – 100. Furthermore, the Normalized
Score is recalculated by the weighted rate. The result is the released score that will be used as thesource for arranging the rank.
No

Indicators

2019/20

1

Network Infrastructure Preparedness (NIP)

NormScore x 10%

2Management Optimization (MO)NormScore x 12%

3

Online Services (OS)NormScore x 12%

4

National Portal (NPR)

NormScore x 8%56

5Government Chief Information Officer (GCIO)

NormScore x 10%

6

Digital government Promotion (EPRO)

NormScore x 10%

7

E-Participation (EPAR)

NormScore x 10%

8Open Government Data (OGD)

NormScore x 10%

9Cybersecurity (CYB)

NormScore x 10%

10The emerging technology in Digital government (EMG)

Normcore x 8%

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G.

Processes of Evaluation

The following process prepares the rankings
Start

PreparationCommencing
surveyExploratory Research on Indicators

Distributing the questionnaires

By

AnalysisCountry

Revision
Government

ExpertOct 2020

GroupsCross
Verification

Tabulate the score
Meeting with
International
Organizations

Jan 2021

Rankings, Evaluation

Country

May 2021

Reports
Final Check

Oct 2021

Press Release

Dec 2021
.

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H.

Contributors List

@ Contributors ( ● indicates a group leader)List of Global Experts GroupInternational Experts●

Prof. Dr. Toshio Obi, Chairman, Institute of Digital government, Waseda University, Japan,
Honorary President, International Academy of CIO, Director of APEC Digital Government
Research Center.

-

Prof. Dr. J.P Auffret, Chair, MOT/CIO Program of George Mason University,
President of International Academy of CIO.

-

Prof. Dr. Luca Buccoliero, Marketing Department Bocconi University, Italy.

-

Prof. Dr. Suhono Harso Supangkat, Bandung Institute of Technology, Indonesia.

-

Prof. Dr. Francisco Magno, Director, Institute of Governance De La Salle University, Philippines.

-

Prof. Fang Chun Yang, Dean, Academy of Digital Government, Peking University, China.

-

Vice Rector/Associate Prof. Dr. Jirapon Sunkpho, Thammasat University, Thailand.

-

Professor Dr. Atreyi Kankanhalli-Prof. Dr. Alexander Ryzhov, The Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public

National University of Singapore,Singapore

Administration (RANEPA), Russia.
-

Prof. Dr. Tomi Dahlberg, Information System, University of Turku, Finland.

-Prof. Hsin-Chung Liao,Deputy Director, Taiwan e-Government Research Center,

List of Professors and Experts at Institute of Digital Government,
Waseda University
⚫

Prof.

Dr.

Naoko

Iwasaki,WasedaUniversity-

Industrial and Science

Prof. Dr. Tatsuyuki Negoro, Waseda
University--Prof. Dr. Yoshio Tozawa, University ofProf. Dr. Atsushi Kato, Waseda University-

Prof. Dr. Kuroda Waseda University- Prof. Dr. Nakajima, Waseda University

Prof. Dr. Hiroko Kudo, Chuo
University

59

List of Researchers and RA, staff at Institute of Digital Government,
Waseda University
Researchers: and Research Assistant/Staff⚫

Dr. Nguyen Manh Hien-

Dr. Yao Yang-

Dr. Pingky Dezar Zulkarnain-

Dr. Bandaxay Lovanxay-

Dr. Nguyen Ngoc Anh-

Mr. Eiji Yamada,-

Dr. Pingky Dezar-

Mrs. Kazumi Mishima

Dr. Diana Ishmatova-

LawyerMr. Erich Josef Schwartz-

Ms Tomoe Nakagawa

Mizukoshi,-

Research Assistant/staff■This report is available from the official website of the Institute.
URL: https://idg-waseda.jp/ranking.htm■Inquiries
Institute of D-Government Waseda University: Dr. Iwasaki, Ms. Nakagawa
1-21-1 Nishiwaseda, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo, Waseda Nishiwaseda Bldg19. No.321
obi_waseda@yahoo.co.jp

60