The E-Government Development Index presents the state of E-Government Development of the United Nations Member States. Along with an assessment of the website development patterns in a country, the E-Government Development index incorporates the access characteristics, such as the infrastructure and educational levels, to reflect how a country is using information technologies to promote access and inclusion of its people. The EGDI is a composite measure of three important dimensions of e-government, namely: provision of online services, telecommunication connectivity and human capacity.
The EGDI is based on a comprehensive Survey of the online presence of all 193 United Nations Member States, which assesses national websites and how e-government policies and strategies are applied in general and in specific sectors for delivery of essential services. The assessment rates the e-government performance of countries relative to one another as opposed to being an absolute measurement. The results are tabulated and combined with a set of indicators embodying a country’s capacity to participate in the information society, without which e-government development efforts are of limited immediate use.
Although the basic model has remained consistent, the precise meaning of these values varies from one edition of the Survey to the next as understanding of the potential of e-government changes and the underlying technology evolves. This is an important distinction because it also implies that it is a comparative framework that seeks to encompass various approaches that may evolve over time instead of advocating a linear path with an absolute goal.
Mathematically, the EGDI is a weighted average of three normalized scores on three most important dimensions of e-government, namely: (1) scope and quality of online services (Online Service Index, OSI), (2) development status of telecommunication infrastructure (Telecommunication Infrastructure Index, TII), and (3) inherent human capital (Human Capital Index, HCI).
The EGDI is not designed to capture e-government development in an absolute sense; rather, it aims to give a performance rating of national governments relative to one another.
Last updated by source: 2022-09-28
| Dataset type: | Time-Series |
| Dataset level: | Country |
(Department of Economic and
Social Affairs, 2022)
The E-Government Development Index (EGDI) is a weighted average of normalised scores on the three most important dimensions of e-government, namely: scope and quality of online services (Online Service Index, OSI), status of the development of telecommunication infrastructure (Telecommunication Infrastructure Index, TII) and inherent human capital (Human Capital Index, HCI). Each of these sets of indices is in itself a composite measure that can be extracted and analysed independently.
More about this variableThe E-Participation Index (EPI) is derived as a supplementary index to the UN E-Government Survey. It extends the dimension of the Survey by focusing on the use of online services to facilitate provision of information by governments to citizens (e-information sharing), interaction with stakeholders (e-consultation) and engagement in decision-making processes. A country’s EPI reflects the e-participation mechanisms that are deployed by the government as compared to all other countries. The purpose of this measure is not to prescribe any specific practice, but rather to offer insight into how different countries are using online tools in promoting interaction between the government and its people, as well as among the people, for the benefit of all.
More about this variableThe Human Capital Index (HCI) consists of four components: (i)adult literacy rate; (ii)the combined primary, secondary and tertiary gross enrolment ratio; (iii)expected years of schooling; and (iv)average years of schooling. Data for HCI components was extracted from the UNESCO-UIS source.
More about this variableThe Online Service Index (OSI) values were constructed by researchers, including UN experts and online United Nations Volunteers (UNVs) from over 60 countries with coverage of 66 languages assessed each country's national website in the native language, including the national portal, e-services portal and e-participation portal, as well as the websites of the related ministries of education, labour, social services, health, finance and environment as applicable. The UNVs included qualified graduate students and volunteers from universities in the field of public administration.
More about this variableThe Telecommunication Infrastructure Index is an arithmetic average composite of four indicators: (i)estimated internet users per 100 inhabitants; (ii)number of mobile subscribers per 100 inhabitants; (iii)active mobile-broadband subscription; and (iv)number of fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 inhabitants. The International Telecommunication Union is the primary source of data in each case. Data for each component was extracted from the ITU source.
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