Study shows despite quick start, gov't e-service performance has slackened

AMMAN — Jordan has ranked 98th among 193 countries on the UN’s 2018 E-Government Development Index, according to a Jordan Strategy Forum (JSF) statement.

In its policy paper on the Kingdom's e-government performance, released on Monday using the UN’s index, the JSF said that the study showed that Jordan ranked above the global average by a large margin from 2004 to 2012. However, since 2012 the Kingdom’s speed of progress has declined, the JSF said. 

The UN study measures countries’ performance among three sub indexes including the provision of online services, telecommunication infrastructure and human capacity.

Jordan took 115th place out of 193 countries in the provision of online services, its lowest score among the three indexes, which assesses governments’ e-services and websites, the JSF said.  

The study found that while some government institutions’ websites are “highly enhanced” and easy to use, many lag behind and the JSF recommended that the government incorporates the private sector to help improve its score. 

Jordan placed 85th in the telecommunications infrastructure index, the report said, recommending that the Kingdom attract more investments in this field to minimise the “digital gap” and increase access to high-speed Internet.

The results of the human capital index, which rates the quality of education and students’ technological proficiency, showed that Jordan placed 76th out of 193 countries.

The JSF encouraged educational institutions to place priority on teaching ICT skills and providing training courses in various technologies.

The policy paper revealed that the Arab Gulf states topped the rankings of Arab countries, while three European countries placed among the top five and African countries performed the weakest. 

The JSF urged Jordan to draw on Arab Gulf states' experience, suggesting the development of a comprehensive system of e-government services.

The paper also proposed that the government increase spending on digital transformation projects, highlighting the importance of incorporating the private sector to speed up implementation.