Qatar ranks 32 in global IT report

The latest edition of the Global Information Technology Report covers 127 economies and named Denmark, followed by Sweden then Switzerland as the world's top three most networked economies. Qatar and the United Arab Emirates were the only GCC countries to make the top 35.

The Supreme Council of Information and Communication Technology (ictQATAR) also contributed to a special section in this year's Report, which focuses on how Qatar is leveraging technology to create a knowledge-based economy in the Middle East.

Now in its seventh consecutive year, the Report has become the world's most comprehensive and authoritative international assessment of the impact of information and communication technology (ICT) on the development process and the competitiveness of nations.

Under the theme 'Fostering Innovation through Networked Readiness', this year's Report places a particular focus on the role of networked readiness in spurring innovation.

The Report's chapter on Qatar highlighted this year's theme by profiling how ictQATAR is driving the country's ICT strategy to connect people to technologies that enrich their lives and drive economic development.

ictQATAR's Secretary General, Dr Hessa Al-Jaber, said they expect Qatar to further improve its ranking in the 2008-2009 report with important advances in e-Health, e-Government, e-Education, e-Business and telecommunications projected over the next year.

"At the end of 2008, Qatar's telecommunications market will be fully liberalized, which will further spur development of advanced communications infrastructure. An open telecoms market is a significant step towards achieving our ambitious national ICT goals," said Dr Al-Jaber.

The Global Information Technology Report is produced by the World Economic Forum in cooperation with INSEAD, a leading international business school.