Ireland’s attractiveness as an e-commerce hub has fallen back against its main competitors, according to a survey released today.
The latest edition of the "e-readiness" survey compiled by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) says Ireland has dropped one place to fifteenth in the list of leading Internet-friendly countries
"E-readiness" is shorthand for the extent to which a country is conducive to Internet-based opportunities. Factors in this measurement include telephone penetration, online security and intellectual property protection.
The United States tops the rankings because of the degree to which the Internet has become embedded in commercial culture. Australia (6th) is the only other non-European country in the top ten.
The Netherlands jumped to second from tenth in 2001 with the rest of the top ten dominated by northern Europe. The EIU attributes the Nordic dominance of the rankings to sophisticated IT infrastructure, high mobile phone penetration, and with good government policy.
Singapore and Hong Kong lead the pack in Asia, taking 11th and 13th place, respectively, but Vietnam and Pakistan languish at the bottom of the heap, in 56th and 57th place.
The EIU also found that successful e-business depends on a strong legal framework that protects private property and encourages entrepeneurship.
In the category of legal and policy environment, Australia comes in first, followed by Sweden, Switzerland, Finland and Britain. Other countries cited as having strong Internet legislation were Mexico and Chile.