These materials will help you objectively evaluate e-Government development in the country.
Glossary
E-Government
E-Government refers to the use of information and communication technologies (ICT) by government agencies to enhance access to and delivery of government services to citizens, businesses, and other stakeholders. The United Nations views e-government as a means to improve public sector efficiency, transparency, and accountability while fostering inclusive governance.
E-Participation
E-Participation involves the use of ICT to engage citizens in public decision-making processes. This includes tools and platforms that allow citizens to contribute their opinions, participate in policy discussions, and be involved in governance processes.
EGDI (E-Government Development Index)
The E-Government Development Index (EGDI) is a composite measure developed by the United Nations to assess the development of e-government across countries. The EGDI is calculated based on three components: Online Service Index (OSI), Telecommunication Infrastructure Index (TII), and Human Capital Index (HCI). It provides a benchmark for comparing the state of e-government across UN member states.
UN (United Nations)
The United Nations (UN) is an international organization founded in 1945 to promote peace, security, human rights, and development. The UN provides a platform for dialogue among its member states and coordinates international efforts to address global challenges, including those related to e-government and digital governance.
OSI (Online Service Index)
The Online Service Index (OSI) is a component of the EGDI that measures the scope and quality of online services provided by governments. The OSI evaluates the availability of government websites, the extent of online services, the level of interaction with citizens, and the transparency of government operations online.
TII (Telecommunication Infrastructure Index)
The Telecommunication Infrastructure Index (TII) is another component of the EGDI that assesses the availability and quality of telecommunications infrastructure in a country. This includes factors such as internet connectivity, mobile subscriptions, and affordability, which are critical for enabling e-government services.
Internet users (% of population) refers to the proportion of individuals who used the Internet from any location in the last three months.
Mobile-cellular subscriptions per 100 inhabitants is the number of subscriptions to mobile service in the last three months. A mobile/cellular telephone refers to a portable telephone subscribed to a public mobile telephone service using cellular technology, which provides access to the PSTN. This includes analogue and digital cellular systems and technologies such as IMT-2000 (3G) and IMT-Advanced. Users of both post-paid subscriptions and prepaid accounts are included.
Active mobile-broadband subscriptions per 100 inhabitants refers to the sum of data and voice mobile- broadband subscriptions and data-only mobile-broadband subscriptions to the public Internet. It covers subscriptions being used to access the Internet at broadband speeds, not subscriptions with potential access, even though the latter may have broadband- enabled handsets. Subscriptions must include a recurring subscription fee to access the Internet or pass a usage requirement – users must have accessed the Internet in the previous three months. It includes subscriptions to mobile-broadband networks that provide download speeds of at least 256 kbit/s (e.g. WcDMA, HSPA, cDMA2000 1x EV-DO, WiMAX IEEE 802.16e and lTE), and excludes subscriptions that only have access to GPRS, EDGE and cDMA 1xRTT.
Affordability measures how easily citizens can afford ICT services relative to their income. It is included in the TII as a combination of two subindices:
Mobile broadband data and voice high-consumption basket price - the cost of the cheapest mobile plan with at least 2 GB of data using at least 3G technology, 140 minutes of voice, and 70 SMS per month, expressed as a percentage of GNI per capita.
Fixed-broadband Internet basket price - the cost of fixed-broadband services as a percentage of GNI per capita, calculated using end-user traffic (download and upload) while excluding wholesale traffic, IPTV, and cable TV. The indicator is calculated by dividing fixed-broadband Internet traffic by total fixed-broadband subscriptions.
HCI (Human Capital Index)
The Human Capital Index (HCI) is the third component of the EGDI, measuring the level of human development in a country, particularly in terms of education and literacy rates. A higher HCI indicates a population better equipped to use and benefit from e-government services, as it reflects the capacity of individuals to engage with digital platforms.
Adult literacy is measured as the percentage of people aged 15 years and above who can, with understanding, both read and write a short simple statement on their everyday life.
Gross enrolment ratio is the total number of students enrolled at the primary, secondary and tertiary level, regardless of age, as a percentage of the school-age population.
Expected years of schooling is the total number of years of schooling that a child of a certain age can expect to receive in the future, assuming that the probability of his or her being in school at any specific age is equal to the current enrolment ratio age.
Mean years of schooling provides the average number of years of education completed by a country’s adult population (25 years and older), excluding the years spent repeating grades.
E-Government literacy subindex, developed by UN DESA using data from national portal assessments, measures digital literacy skills, which play a crucial role in the effective implementation and utilization of e-government services. It measures the level of e-government literacy within a country by assessing key features on government portals. The features accessed are: Internal search mechanism, Online user support, Social Networking features, Live chat support with a person, Privacy policy, Information on online services use, Digital identity management, Facilitation of free Internet access, Open data metadata, User Guidance, Service Personalization, Co-creation and/or Co-production (In health, education, social protection, employment, environment and justice) and Access to physical spaces.