Sverige tappar förstaplatsen och rankas tvåa i världen i 2021 Network Readiness Index (NRI). Indexet är en årlig jämförelse av länders förmåga att tillvarata digitaliseringens möjligheter genom att bedöma hur nätverksredo ekonomin är. Europa är fortfarande den ledande regionen i världen med fyra europeiska länder i den globala topp 5.
I årets undersökning ligger fokus på effekterna av digital teknik som har en mer positiv och likvärdig inverkan på världen i postcovidtider. Teknik kan bidra till att utjämna den globala återhämningen, där prioriterade insatser kommer att läggas inom fyra områden: hälsa, grönare ekonomi, infrastruktur (för att bekämpa och förebygga arbetslöshet), samt digital transformation.
Om Network Readiness Index
Network Readiness Index sammanställs av tankesmedjan Portulans Institute (sammanställdes fram till 2018 av World Economic Forum). Indexet syftar till att mäta hur teknik och människor behöver integreras i en effektiv styrning för att nå en bredare inverkan på flera nivåer när det gäller ekonomi, samhälle och miljö. NRI rankar 130 länder i ett sammansatt index, som omfattar fyra olika områden: teknik, människor, styrning, inverkan. Sedan bryts de ned i tre underkategorier som i sin tur består av 60 variabler.
Nedan finner ni en kort sammanfattning på engelska, samt Sveriges prestation i mätningen. Vill ni läsa mer hittar ni hela rapporten här 
https://networkreadinessindex.org/
The Network Readiness Index (NRI) 2021 Highlights
The Netherlands is the top performer in the overall NRI rankings, taking the leading position from Sweden, which has had the leading position since 2019.
The most network-ready societies for 2021 are the Netherlands, Sweden, and Denmark. Having four European countries in the global top 5, it makes Europe the leading region in the world. The United Arab Emirates, Singapore, the Russian Federation, and the United States continue to lead in their respective regions. South Africa earned the top position in Africa this year.
Key messages from Network Readiness Index (NRI) 2021
1. The pandemic turned digital transformation from a priority into a global imperative.
2. The new landscape of digital transformation is creating new divides that question the previous progress made towards reducing older gaps between distinct groups
3. Technology can help equalize the global recovery. Four primary areas emerge as likely to receive bulk of such recovery efforts: health, greening of the economy, infrastructure (to fight unemployment and ‘rebuild better’), digital transformation (of organizations and societies)
4. Network readiness requires holistic approaches. As the new digital economy becomes more established, the ability to integrate people and technology within the proper governance structures is key to fostering resilience and sustainability.
5. Technology readiness remains fair at the regional level
6. Clear digital technology champions are helping bridge income group gaps
7. Connectivity is not an end in itself - it is a tool designed to create value for societies. While connectivity is critical, it is also important to go beyond and focus on additional aspects such as education (to improve skills and support content creation) and policies that support technological investments and innovation in businesses, both small and large.
The Top 10: some stable rankings and rearrangements
In particular, the Netherlands climbed three spots to take the top position from
Sweden, which has held the number one position since 2019. The United States also shifted, increasing four rankings to earn a place among the top five for the first time in the 2019-2021 period. With Singapore falling out of the top five, four out of the five most network-ready economies in 2021 are from Europe.
The top 10 performers all demonstrate solid performance metrics across the highest number of dimensions of the NRI. They all rank as the top 20 countries on each of the four primary pillars (Technology, People, Governance, Impact) and on at least two thirds of the twelve sub-pillars. All of the top 10 countries are high-income economies characterized by significant investment in emerging technologies and successful adoption of information and communications technologies (ICTs) by governments, businesses, and individuals.
Out of the top 25 countries, 17 are from Europe (primarily Northern and Western Europe), three are from Eastern and Southeastern Asia (Singapore, the Republic of Korea, and Japan), two are from Oceania (Australia and New Zealand), two are in North America (Canada and the United States), and one in Western Asia (Israel).
Sweden at glance
Sweden achieved a top three rank again in the NRI 2021, albeit dropping one position from last year. Similar to the well-rounded ranks posted by the Netherlands, Sweden maintains a positive overall performance in all areas of network readiness. Sweden’s highest position relates to the Impact (2nd) pillar, reflecting the country’s global leader status when it comes to adopting and investing in technologies that improve the social and human aspects of the network economy.
Other high-performance areas by Sweden include Happiness (7th), Freedom to make life choices (7th), Good Health and Well-Being (6th), Females employed with advanced degrees (7th), and the Sustainable cities and communities (6th) indicators.
Sweden ranks in the top 10 in every sub-pillar except Access (15th) and Individuals (28th). Its best scores relate to the adoption of Future Technologies (2nd), Businesses (3rd) and Trust (5th) sub-pillars.
The country also benefits from balanced and progressive regulation policies of ICTs (5th place in the Regulation sub-pillar) and displays substantial e-commerce legislation that earns a first-place position in the E-commerce Legislation indicator. However, an area of improvement is stated specifically the ICT regulatory environment (50th).
Some areas of opportunity for Sweden involve the use of digital technologies among individuals, most likely due to the low affordability of devices and connectivity options (the country ranked 33rd for the Handset prices indicator). Other indicators to show improvement potential are in the sub-pillars Inclusion: gender gap in internet use (44th) and in Economy: growth rate of GDP per person engaged (67th).
Enhancing levels of cybersecurity can also improve future rankings (Sweden placed 33rd in the Cybersecurity indicator). Another area, which can contribute to better ranking is Affordable and Clean Energy (sub-pillar SDG Contribution), lagging behind this year (ranked 67th).
Source: The 2021 NRI, p.197, accessible here https://networkreadinessindex.org/