The Sultanate of Oman ranking has improved in the United Nations eGovernment Survey 2018 published by United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA), according to the ITA. Oman is ranked 63 out of the 193 member state countries.
Compared to the 2016 scores, Oman has improved on all the three indices and is ranked 6th among the Arab countries and 2nd in the online services index.
The Sultanate made great improvement in the eParticipation index by 33 positions to be ranked 43, said the report.
For the first time the UN eGov report 2018 have highlighted the Global Cyber Security Index in which Oman is one of the top 10 member states with the highest commitment to the cybersecurity.
The Survey tracks progress of eGovernment development via the E-Government Development Index (EGDI). The EGDI, which assesses eGovernment development at the national level, is a composite index based on the weighted average of three normalized indices.
In the Online Services index, Oman scored 81 percent compared to 59 percent in 2016 survey to be the 2nd best country in the Arab region in this index. This improvement is a result of the collaborative efforts made by the various ministries; in addition to the various policies and initiatives under the guidance of ITA.
The data in this index is collected by the UNDESA through conducting several surveys. The researchers assessed each country’s national website, including the national central portal or eServices portal and eParticipation, as well as the websites of the related ministries of education, labour, social services, health, finance, and environment as applicable.
The noticeable improvement in the scores of the Telecom Infrastructure Index from 51 percent in 2016 to 54 percent in 2018 survey is a reflection of the Government initiatives in improving the internet connectivity and broadband services.
In the Human Capital Index, Oman has improved its scores to 70 percent compared to 67 percent in 2016 report, which reflects the investments and focus made by the Government in the education sector and the efforts of the Omani National Committee for Education, Culture and Science for updating the data in the database of the UNESCO institute for statistics.
As part of the report, UN also published the eParticipation Index and Oman has improved significantly by 33 position to be the 2nd best ranking in the Arab region. This significant improvement reflects the government emphasis in the eParticiaption and the effective use of online channels to be in direct contact with the public. The Sultanate score in the eDecision Making has jumped to 91 percent in 2018.
