Bangladesh falls 4 notches on e-government development index despite progress

Despite making significant progress in its transition from the middle to the high E-Government Development Index (EGDI) group, Bangladesh has moved four notches down on the EGDI 2020. 

The country ranked 119th, with a score of 0.5189, on the EGDI 2020; while it was in 115th position, with a score of 0.4862, in the 2018 ranking.

According to the report, Bangladesh's improvement on the e-government index is fuelled by progress in online connectivity and online service delivery of the public sector.

To do so, the country worked to unify 46,000 virtual offices, causing government service delivery to be nimble and efficient.

The EGDI 2020 was based on the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs 2020 E-Government Survey.  

The biennial survey report was released on July 10. It presents an overview of how digital governance can facilitate integrated policies and services across 193 countries.

For public sector employees having full access to the internet and ability to use ICT tools for government work by 2020, Bangladesh has invested in an open-learning platform providing training in digital and professional skills, the report said.  

The country operates an exclusive portal for teenagers to improve their digital literacy, it said. 

However, Bangladesh dropped 44 places, to 95th position, on the 2020 E-Participation Index (EPI).

The EGDI divided countries into four groups: very high EGDI (score 0.75 to 1), high EGDI (score 0.50 to 0.75), middle EGDI (score 0.25 to 0.5), and low EGDI (score 0 to 0.25).

Currently, 57 countries are in the very high EGDI group, 69 in high EGDI, 59 in middle EGDI, and eight in low EGDI. 

South Asian countries yet to be in very high EGDI group

E-governance is at a beginner level in South Asia. No country in this region is in the very high EGDI group.

Five South Asian countries are in the high EGDI group: Sri Lanka (85th), India (100th), Bhutan (103rd), the Maldives (105th), and Bangladesh.

Nepal (132nd) is in the middle EGDI group.  

Afghanistan (169th) is at the bottom in the region, preceded by Pakistan (153rd).

However, the EPI showed a different order. India (29th) was at the top in the region, followed by Sri Lanka (66th), Bhutan (82nd), and Bangladesh.

Surprisingly, Nepal (137th) is at the bottom on the index and the Maldives (126th) is second from the bottom.

Globally, Denmark is the EGDI leader, followed by South Korea and Estonia. On the other hand, in EPI, Estonia, South Korea and the US shared the top position.