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New Zealand ranks 7 in global web index

New Zealand is number 7 on the list of the world’s top 10 nations that use the internet to improve people’s lives, a new global study reveals.

New Zealand is number 7 on the list of the world’s top 10 nations that use the internet to improve people’s lives, a new global study reveals. Using a range of indicators, the World Wide Web Foundation has scored New Zealand as the seventh leading web nation, one ahead of Australia. Sweden topped the index, ahead of the United States. The foundation is led by web inventor Sir Tim Berners-Lee. The foundation says the web remains a largely untapped resource in much of the world with only one in three people using it globally and fewer than one in six in Africa.

The Web Index is the most comprehensive and authoritative assessment to date of the Web’s impact around the world. It ranks 61 countries on Web readiness and use, as well as the political, economic and social value they extract from the Web. Its report says New Zealand ranks high, scoring eighth for impact, seventh for the Web and ninth for Readiness. “The Social Impact of the Web is quite significant, with New Zealand ranking third globally for that component,” the study says. “It ranks considerably lower in terms Economic Impact (17), Communications Infrastructure (15) and Web Usage (11).”

The report says New Zealand’s average Internet speeds are among the slowest of all developed nations.

Web Index Top 10 Web Index

1. Sweden
2. United States
3. Britain
4. Canada
5. Finland
6. Switzerland
7. New Zealand
8. Australia
9. Norway
10. Ireland

The bottom 10 were:

52. Nepal
53. Cameroon
54. Mali
55. Bangladesh
56. Namibia
57. Ethiopia
58. Benin
59. Burkina Faso
60. Zimbabwe
61. Yemen

The Index ranks countries on scores for seven components:

  • Communications Infrastructure refers to the state and availability of physical and communications infrastructure that enables access to the Web
  • Institutional Infrastructure refers to the state of the institutional ecosystem – including education, laws, regulation and censorship – that enable access to the Web
  • Web Content refers to the extent to which relevant and useful content is available on the Web
  • Web Use refers to the extent of Web use in a country Political Impact refers to the Web’s impact on politics and government
  • Economic Impact refers to the Web’s impact on business and the economy
  • Social Impact refers to the Web’s impact on health, education and social activities.