TIRANA, April 20 – After losing pace for two consecutive years, Albania gained some ground in the development of information technology but continued lagging behind regional competitors, according to a report published by the World Economic Forum.
The 2015 Global Information Technology report shows Albania ranked 92nd in the Networked Readiness Index, measuring the capacity of 143 economies around the world to leverage ICTs for increased competitiveness and well-being.
Albania was sandwiched between Argentina and Guyana in this year’s report, gaining three places compared to last year.
On a 1-to-7 scale, Albania got 3.7 points in the environment subindex, 4.4 points in the readiness subindex, 3.5 points in the usage subindex and 3.2 points in the impact subindex.
In the political and regulatory environment pillar, Albania has the worst ranking in judicial independence, efficiency of legal system in settling disputes, intellectual property protection and ranks slightly better on the number of days to enforce a contract and laws relating to ICTs.
The report shows Albania ranks 69th in the business and innovation environment pillar, with a positive rating on the number of days and procedures to start a business but relatively poor on the intensity of local competition and availability of latest technologies.
In the business usage pillar, Albania ranks poor on capacity for innovation and business-to-consumer internet use. The economic impact of ICTs on new services and products is also rated low.
Back in 2014, Albania ranked 95th in the Networked Readiness Index, compared to 83rd in 2013 and 68th in 2012 when it achieved the best-ever ranking.
The Networked Readiness Index, calculated by the World Economic Forum, ranks economies based on their capacity to exploit the opportunities offered by the digital age. This capacity is determined by the quality of the regulatory, business and innovation environments, the degree of preparedness, the actual usage of ICTs, as well as the societal and economic impacts of ICTs.
