The objective of this indicator is to measure and assess the ability of 63 countries to adopt and explore digital technologies as a major driver of economic transformation in business, government and society as a whole.
Thus, digital competitiveness is assessed on the basis of three pillars: (1) knowledge, (2) technology, and (3) readiness for the future.
In this sense, the first thing is to clarify that the situation in the region is unfavorable. Most Latin American countries have not yet recovered the scores scored before the pandemic, and have found themselves at the bottom of the rankings.
Andina Lewis commented, “The lack of resources to support talent and technological development has become the main obstacle for countries in the region to improve in terms of knowledge generation and the ability to take full advantage of digital transformation.” from Carpio. From Centrum PUCP.
In the group, Chile is still in the lead with 66.2 points, but it has fallen by two places and is at 41. Similarly, Brazil occupies one place, despite the improvement in the result (+4.7 points). Colombia, which fell to 60th, a position lower than last year, also improved in score (+3.8 points).
On the other hand, the countries that registered improvements in position are: Mexico, which moved up one position (from 56th to 55th), scoring 54.7 points (+6 points); Argentina, which moved up two places and scored 6.6 points more than last year.
If we analyze the positions obtained by the countries of the region since 2013, we can see that all of them show a negative trend.
The scores are lower than those recorded in the years prior to the pandemic (2020).
Peruvian case
Andina Agency analyzed the Peruvian special case. In this ranking, despite the fact that Peru rose by 5 points, the bad thing is that it ranks 57 out of 63 countries with a score of 52.1, on a scale of 0 to 100 points, says Centrum PUCP.
The classification was prepared by the Institute for Management Development (IMD) in Switzerland, jointly with Centrum PUCP for the Peruvian chapter
“In the case of Peru, there is a slight increase in the score (+4.8 points), although it does not translate into a better position (still 57th). Which indicates that the progress was not enough to climb the ranking,” says Luis del Carpio. , Specialized Director of the Master’s Degree in Regional Competitive Development Management at Centrum PUCP.
“In the world, technology is advancing very quickly, so companies and individuals must stay ahead of the curve, taking advantage of its advantages to be more competitive. For this reason, it is important to assess how countries face this challenge,” adds del Carpio.
The score for Peru is the product of the scores achieved in the three pillars the ranking assesses: in the first on knowledge, Peru advanced 9.5 points (from 36.9 to 46.3 points) and rises three places from 59 to 56.
In the second pillar of technology, the score obtained was higher than that of last year (+3.3 points), but it fell one place from 58th to 57th, which is the pillar with the lowest score.
In the third column of preparing for the future where he also achieved a higher score (+6.3 points), but he did not move in the positions, remaining in 54th place.
In this regard, Luis del Carpio points out that “seeing the results in each pillar and in each factor evaluated, it is important to focus on the key points to continue improving digital competitiveness given that the progress that Peru is making has not been enough to be able to scale more positions.”
“Through this research on global digital competitiveness, Centrum PUCP contributes high-quality information of great value to individuals and businesses, so that it can be used by change-generating agents as a tool that enhances digital competitiveness in Peru.” , explain.
overall ranking
Globally, the top five countries, that is, the five countries in the 2021 edition, continue to lead, albeit in a different order. Where Denmark replaces the United States from the first place, with a score of 100 points (+4.8 points), overtaking and replacing the United States which slipped to second place with 99.8 points (-0.2 points). In third place is Sweden with 99.8 points (+4.6 points).
Singapore and Switzerland follow in fourth and fifth places, respectively. Both countries score higher and advance one place compared to last year.
From this collection, best practices are highlighted that serve as a guide for all countries to improve digital competitiveness.
Among the characteristics common to these countries are: effective use of digital talent; An adequate technological infrastructure that facilitates the use of available technology and the creation of new technologies; and effective regulatory frameworks that adapt to new technologies at high speed.
On the other hand, the digital competitiveness ranking of East Asian economies (China, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan) fell by two places on average, from 13th to 15th, which is the end point of the trend. 2018.
Similarly, the economies of East Asia and North America remain centers of digital innovation in the world. While Western Europe suffers a decline here.
Photo: UNSPLASH Alex King
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