Cisco Systems released its 2019 Digital Readiness Index rankings and while Canada ranked second in the world in tech adoption, it did not do as well in other key areas.
Cisco’s Digital Readiness Index is a score out of 25 and is compiled through the use of seven categories: basic needs, business and government investment, ease of doing business, human capital, start-up environment, technology adoption, and technology infrastructure.
Canada ranked highly in technology adoption (2nd) and human capital (6th) but failed to crack the top 10 in basic needs (17th), technology infrastructure (18th), ease of doing business (18th), business and government investment (20th), and start-up environment (26th).
The average score of the 141 countries included was 11.90 out of 25. Canada garnered a score of 17.33.
The U.S. ranked highly, placing third with an overall score of 19.03. America’s high ranking was the result of high scores across the board, but it ranked 32nd for basic needs. Some other expected high rankers included the United Kingdom and Germany at 13 and 14, respectively.
On the other side of the scale, China ranked rather poorly, placing 54th with an overall score of 13.22. The major detriments to China’s ranking were placing 117th in business & government investment and 83rd in technology adoption.
Singapore and Luxembourg ended up topping the list in overall digital readiness coming in at 1st and 2nd, respectively.
Tae Yoo, the company’s senior vice-president of corporate affairs, wrote about the Index in a recent whitepaper and broke down the need for some of the categories that may not stand out as obvious factors.
“To uncover key insights and build our understanding of what it means for a country to be digitally ready, a holistic model was created that includes components beyond technology, such as basic needs, human capital development, and the business and start-up environment,” said Yoo. “Although having access to technology and the infrastructure to support digital technologies is critical, if individuals’ basic needs are not met, such as access to clean drinking water, or they lack education or job opportunities-a country cannot fully take advantage of digital opportunities. This holistic model allows for an understanding of a country’s level of digital readiness and what interventions and investments could help countries advance in their readiness.”
