Jordan jumps 19 places in global e-gov’t ranking

AMMAN — Jordan ranked 79th globally in the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs’ (UNDESA) E-Government Survey Report 2014, improving by 19 places compared to 2012.

The report, which covered 193 countries, ranked Jordan in eighth place at the Arab level, preceded by Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, Kuwait and Tunisia respectively.

The Kingdom was ahead of Egypt, Morocco, Lebanon, Iraq, Syria, Yemen and Sudan, the recently launched report said.

In the 2012 report, Jordan ranked 98th out of 190 countries.

“The improvement in ranking is due to the continued efforts of the government’s e-services programme,” Information and Communications Technology Minister Azzam Sleit said in a statement e-mailed to The Jordan Times.

“Under this scheme, several e-services were introduced to the public in the fields of health, education, finance, environment and social development, Sleit added.

“These additions played an important role in increasing e-participation and interaction with public entities,” he noted.

The authorities formally inaugurated the e-government programme in 2006 with the intention of streamlining public administration and enhancing access to the Internet in rural areas. 

In the field of e-participation, Jordan ranked 71st globally in 2014, improving by 30 places compared to 2012 when it ranked 101st, the report said.

Noting that all UN member states are now online, the survey showed that more governments are expanding electronic participation and using mobile and social media tools to reach people.

E-government is “entering a new episode” with all 193 UN member countries using national websites for the first time, the report said, and with government officials using their online presence to add public value to people’s lives in an inclusive manner.

Governments’ use of social media rose 50 per cent between 2012 and 2014, with 118 countries using some form of social media, including Twitter, according to the report.

Under this year’s theme “E-Government for the Future We Want”, the UNDESA report for 2014 assesses the use and potential of information and communication technologies to transform the public sector by enhancing efficiency, effectiveness, transparency, accountability, access to public services and citizen participation in the 193 member states of the United Nations at all levels of development.