The Digital Economy Navigator
A human-centric approach to digital economy maturity, identifying opportunities for countries, businesses and societies.
The Digital Economy Navigator (DEN) is a global assessment tool enabling countries to understand their level of digital economy maturity, find opportunities for growth, and benchmark progress over time.
The DEN scores 50 countries across multiple areas utilising a variety of public data sources alongside unique global survey data, allowing for more informed policy making that can lead to economic growth, sustainability, social inclusion and higher quality of life for everyone.
The DEN reveals a diverse picture of maturity across pillars and regions.
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Advanced
- Digital for Health and Education
- Digital Regulation and Public Administration
- Digital for Social Inclusion
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Transitioning
- Digital for Work and Training
- Digital Capabilities
- Digital Finance
- Digital Infrastructure
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Emerging
- Industry Digital Transformation
- ICT Core Business
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Nascent
- Digital Innovation
Global progress in digital infrastructure is notable, yet gaps persist.
These are most noticeable in internet coverage, speed, and affordability. Enhancing internet speeds through improved data infrastructure and promoting affordability through infrastructure sharing and public-private partnerships are key to supporting robust digital economies.
Progress in basic ICT skills is strong globally, but areas are still lacking.
Through deliberate, strategic efforts several middle income countries such as Indonesia, India, and Egypt excel at bringing digital services to their digitally connected citizens — underscoring a citizen-centric approach to digital economy maturity.
Significant progress has been made globally in digital regulation.
There is still room for improvement, especially in developing regions. Expanding public digital services, updating regulatory frameworks, and enhancing transparency can boost public sector efficiency and citizen engagement.
While digital payments have advanced globally, traditional banking systems remain limited in underserved areas.
Enhancing banking infrastructure, promoting financial inclusion, and addressing risks in digital payment systems are crucial for inclusive economic growth.
ICT core business shows “emerging” global maturity.
There is a concentration of technology production in regions like North America, East Asia and Pacific, and Europe. To boost global convergence, it is essential for other regions to invest strategically to address gaps in technology production and telecommunications.
Industry digital transformation is progressing unevenly.
There is strong performance in digital applications for transactions. Expanding digital services, improving e-commerce conditions, and supporting small businesses are necessary for broader digital integration.
Most countries are classified as “digitally nascent” in terms of innovation.
Advanced innovative capacity is concentrated in a few regions. Fostering startup ecosystems, increasing venture capital availability, and developing national AI strategies can drive innovation and address global inequities.
Significant advancements in digital health and education have been driven by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Continued progress requires addressing gender disparities and expanding digital offerings to ensure equitable access to digital health and education solutions.
The adoption of digital tools for work and training is increasing globally.
There has been notable progress in developing economies. Enhancing support for gig workers, improving work flexibility, boosting work digitalization and job seeking/matching tools and e-learning are key areas with significant impact on prosperity.
Global digital engagement is advancing, with most regions achieving high levels of digital inclusion.
Key areas for further development include closing gender and disability gaps, addressing rural-urban divides, and supporting vibrant online civil societies.
50 countries across seven regions
More than 5000 data points
Measuring country performance across ten pillars, made up of 102 indicators
72 % of the world’s population and
86 % of the global GDP in current USD
And results from 27081 survey respondents
About the DEN
To understand the range of factors, as well as how they interrelate to create an overall picture of digital economic maturity, the DEN looks through the lens of three dimensions comprising 10 pillars.
Digital Business is the economic activity of the private sector companies providing digital services, or that are transformed by them, along with the disruptive role of digital innovation.
Digital Business
- ICT Core Business describes the economic activity of the producers of digital technologies and services and the businesses heavily reliant on digital technologies, i.e., the core of the Internet economy.
- Industry Digital Transformation measures the economic activity of traditional industries significantly disrupted or transformed by digital inputs (technologies and services).
- Digital Innovation covers the startup environment and frontier research that push forward digital technology creation and new uses.
While all dimensions are interlinked, Digital Enablers are the fundamental factors that support and can be thought of as the pre-conditions for Digital Business and Digital Society to achieve the highest possible performance.
Digital Enablers
- Digital Infrastructure is the hardware and Internet infrastructure that enables all digital activities. It is the key element upon which all digital technologies rely, measured by broadband access coverage, speed, and affordability.
- Digital Capabilities includes the competencies and factors for citizens to confidently participate in the Digital Economy to their full potential.
- Digital Regulation and Public Administration encompasses the regulatory framework and fundamental administrative operations necessary for the efficient functioning of digital activities within a country.
- Digital Finance covers the access to, and use of, digital banking and other financial activities that contribute to developing the wider digital economy.
Digital Society includes the activities reliant on or significantly enhanced by digital inputs which bring social benefits to society and thereby increase human well-being.
Digital Society
- Digital for Health and Education describes the access to key digital social services, healthcare and education, and how they can empower citizens with respect to individual outcomes for human well-being.
- Digital for Work and Training describes how access to digital technologies and services can empower the workforce, transform the workplace and provide new income opportunities for citizens.
- Digital for Social Inclusion describes how access to digital technologies and services impact digital civic life as well as the connectivity and inclusion of all people in the digital society.
Methodology
The scores for the 10 pillars are supported by 102 indicators. This allows stakeholders to understand and compare performance on a high level, but also drill into detailed scores based on public data and novel survey data. See the full methodology in the DEN report.
Download the 2024 DEN report
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