Denmark Displaces Sweden as Top Ranking Nation in Information Society Index

For the first time in four years, Sweden is no longer the top ranking nation in IDC's Information Society Index (ISI), which measures the abilities of 53 nations to participate in the information revolution. This year, Denmark has displaced Sweden in the number 1 position. Additionally, the U.S., Switzerland and Canada displaced the Netherlands, Norway, and Finland to round out the top 5.

The ISI is a unique study that combines 15 variables in four infrastructure "pillars" to calculate and rank each nation's ability to access and utilize information and information technology. In much the same way that gross domestic product (GDP) measures a country's economic wealth, the ISI measures its information capacity and wealth. The four pillars are:

• Computers -- This pillar looks at the basic building blocks of information society by measuring the number of PC households, IT spending as a percentage of GDP, software spending as a percentage of total IT spending, and IT services spending weighted against GDP.
• Internet -- The Internet is a key factor in the development of an advanced information society. This pillar factors in the number of Internet users within a country, the percentage of users with Internet access at home, the number of mobile Internet users, and e-commerce spending.
• Telecoms -- To better understand how each society accesses information, this pillar measures variables related to broadband adoption, wireless services, and mobile handset shipments.
• Social -- Social factors provide the glue that enables society to fix onto the advantages offered by innovation. This pillar evaluates a society's ability to utilize information technology by measuring education, civil liberties, and government corruption.

"Typically, we have seen that the civil liberties and education levels of a nation strongly determine its level of technology adoption, but there seems to be a loophole where wireless adoption is concerned," noted David Emberley, senior analyst for the IDC Worldwide IT Markets and Strategies research portfolio. "This is one area in which consumer adoption has been strong even in some of those countries with lower overall scores for social freedoms."

At the top of the rankings, Denmark received high scores in a number of variables across all four pillars. Based on 2003 data, 67 percent of the population in Denmark is accessing the Internet with 84 percent of those users connecting from home. Twenty-two percent of the households are using broadband connections while total mobile subscriber penetration in Denmark reached 59 percent.

In comparison with the U.S., Denmark ranks higher primarily due to a lead in the telecom variable, notably wireless subscribers as well as in Internet where Denmark jumped ahead in both user penetration and mobile Internet users. However, the U.S. scored highest for computers based on PC's per household and software spending, thus continuing to hold its position as the world's largest consumer of computer products and services.

Top 10 ISI Nations
Denmark
Sweden
United States
Switzerland
Canada
Netherlands
Finland
Korea
Norway
UK

At the bottom of the rankings were the less-developed Information Societies -- countries where there is far less ability to access and use information and information technology. Of the 53 countries profiled in IDC's Information Society Index, Indonesia, Vietnam, India and Turkey received the lowest overall scores. It should be noted, however, that these scores are based on a profile of each country as a whole. In addition, the study only examined those countries where IDC has a substantial local research presence, representing the 53 largest IT markets in the world. It is incorrect to interpret the Index as a statement that these countries have the world's least developed Information Societies or are among the world's least developed countries.

For more specific detail on each country, an interactive Information Society map is available online.