The Gulf countries continue to shine at the global IT rankings of World Economic Forum (WEF) with the UAE ranking 24th worldwide followed by Qatar at 25th spot and Bahrain at 30th position.

The Gulf trio made it to the 'Global Top 30' besides clinching the top rankings in the Mena region followed by Saudi Arabia (at 33) and Oman (41), said Insead, a leading international business school, in the study which was jointly published with the WEF.

According to Insead's '2010-2011 Global Information Technology Report, the Arab countries continue to feature prominently in the rankings, with three in the top 30.

This Gulf ranking reflects the information technology sector’s increasing prioritization in national agendas as a crucial instrument for economic diversification, enhanced efficiency, and modernization, the report said.

On Bahrain, the report said, 'The Kingdom displays notable competitive strengths in the quality of its market environment and the high degree of preparedness of its citizens to use Information and Communications Technology.'

Bahrain consolidates its 30th position, displaying notable competitive strengths in the quality of its market environment (9) and the high degree of preparedness of its citizens (15) to use information and communications technology (ICT), an aspect that has already converted to high penetration rates (28th for individual usage), the report stated.

The strong government vision and leadership in ICT diffusion (14) has also resulted in first class e-services (8th), significantly expanding outreach of basic services to citizens (11th), high e-participation (11th), and increased government efficiency (12th), it added.

The key drivers for Bahrain were availability of latest technologies (29th spot),  mobile network coverage (1), government readiness (14), prioritization of ICT (11), Government procurement of advanced tech (21), importance of ICT to Government vision (14), Mobile Phone subscription (5), Government success in ICT promotion (15), ICT use and government efficiency (12).

The report again features the Networked Readiness Index (NRI), which ranks 138 economies worldwide by examining the correlation between ICT readiness and economic growth.

Similar to the 2009-2010 report, Sweden and Singapore led the rankings by placing first and second in the NRI, respectively. Finland (#3) rose in the rankings, followed by Switzerland (#4) and the United States (#5).

‘ICT, and the Internet in particular, have changed the world dramatically, and all indications point to an even higher rate of transformation of our lives going forward,’ said Bruno Lanvin, executive director at eLab, Insead.

‘As the Global Information Technology Report series enters its second decade, we hope it will continue to provide policy-makers and decision leaders from both the public and private sectors a unique reference and tool to address the challenges and opportunities brought about by the transformations 2.0,’ he stated.

‘Innovation and ICT have proven a crucial lever for long-term growth, with countless social and economic benefits and the capacity to significantly improve people’s life around the world,’ said

Alan Marcus, senior director and head of IT and Telecommunications at the WEF and co-editor of the report, said, 'The countries fully integrating new technologies and leveraging the new data revolution in their development and growth strategies are laying the foundations for competitive, resilient economies for the future.'

The Networked Readiness Index uses a combination of data from publicly available sources, as well as the results of the Executive Opinion Survey, an annual survey conducted by the WEF with its network of partner institutes (leading research institutes and business organisations) in the countries included in the report.

This survey of over 15,000 executives provides unique data on many qualitative dimensions important to assess national networked readiness.-TradeArabia News Service