Report on World Internet Development Names US, China and South Korea as Top 3

The Report on World Internet Development 2017 was released in Wuzhen, host city of the 4th World Internet Conference. The report sets up an indexing system for world Internet development, and scores the US, China and South Korea as the world’s Top 3.

The World Internet development index system includes 38 countries, covering the major economies of the five continents and countries with the best Internet development. It reflects the latest Internet development on all continents and in all major countries.

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The list included six countries in the Americas, 13 countries in Asia, 14 countries in Europe, one in Oceania and four in Africa.

Indexed countries are evaluated in six categories: infrastructure, innovation ability, industrial development, network application, cyber security and cyber governance.

Developed economies, in general, have highest average level of the Internet development, and are followed by emerging countries in Europe and Asia. Countries and regions in Latin America and sub-Saharan Africa are also accelerating in development.

In terms of scores, the US ranked first with an overall score of 57.66, followed by China, South Korea, Japan and the UK.

The UN, the International Telecommunication Union, World Economic Forum and other international organizations have launched the E-Government Development Index, ICT Development Index, Global Cybersecurity Index and Network Readiness Index, which have become index systems with high recognition.

“But these index systems give priority to aa special index, focusing on per capita indicators. It is difficult to reflect the overall condition of Internet development in all countries, and to reflect the important role of aggregate indexes such as Internet users,” said Yang Shuzhen, dean of the Chinese Academy of Cyberspace. The Report on World Internet Development accommodates both aggregate index and per capita indicators, which provides a more comprehensive, accurate and scientific index system to assess the development of the Internet around the world. The report also fills a blank in the overall assessment of Internet development.

This article originally appeared in Sina Technology and was translated by Pandaily.