Global IT Economy Rankings

Singapore, Finland, the United States, Hong Kong and the Netherlands rank highest in technology and e-commerce capabilities among 48 nations, according to the 2003 Global Information Technology-Economy Index (GITEI), released recently by Tech-Economy, an IT research firm.

* An unusually strong showing by Singapore this year dropped the United States down to an unprecedented third-place finish. Both Singapore and second-place Finland excelled in the "Visionary Government" category, utilizing high scores in "new legislation," "investment incentives," "real corporate taxes" and "government transparency" to beat out the U.S. in the overall results.

* Northern European countries continue their phenomenal showing on the global technological scene, with over half of the top 15 overall finishers from this region. These countries have been quicker to embrace technology and e-commerce than southern European countries.

* Asia produced varying results among different countries, but overall continued to emerge strongly on the world economic-technological scene. Japan's current economic woes weigh it down heavily in this year's index, with an uncharacteristically poor 31st place. As mentioned above, Singapore astonishes with a first-place finish this year. In addition, up-and-comers Hong Kong, Taiwan and Malaysia are well on their way to becoming major players on the global technology scene, and even China, despite a low overall finish, is making tremendous strides towards establishing a global presence.

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