The Network Readiness Index (NRI) was first published in 2002 by the World Economic Forum as part of the Global Information Technology Report. Over the last two decades, the NRI has provided a holistic view of how economies can deploy technology to enhance development and global competitiveness. 
The NRI 2023’s overall structure is the same as that of the NRI 2022. The index consists of four pillars (Technology, People, Governance, and Impact) that make up the fundamental dimensions of network readiness. Each of the fundamental pillars is divided into additional sub-pillars, which are further subdivided into a total of 58 indicators. The current version of the index has been subject to a few adjustments. In particular, the methodology of four indicators was revised, while two indicators changed name at source. Each pillar has the same weight in the computation of the index. All pillars are composed of three sub-pillars that are weighted equally. The number of indicators making up each sub-pillar vary from four to six. Although they are equally weighted in their respective sub-pillars, the different number of indicators within sub-pillars results into a different contribution of each individual indicator in the overall index. The inclusion of countries and indicators relied on a double threshold approach (70% coverage at the pillar level, and 40% coverage at the sub-pillar level), resulting in a total of 134 countries. Compared to the 2022 edition of the Index, three new countries were included while no country was excluded.

The European Commission’s Competence Centre on Composite Indicators and Scoreboards (COIN) at the Joint Research Centre (JRC) has been invited for the third time to audit the index. As in the previous two editions, the present JRC-COIN audit focuses on the statistical soundness of the multi-level structure of the index as well as on the impact of key modelling assumptions on the results. The independent statistical assessment of the NRI 2022 provided by the JRC-COIN guarantees the transparency and reliability of the index for both policymakers and other stakeholders, thus facilitating more accurate priority setting and policy formulation in the respective field.

Visit the Network Readiness Index 2023 full report page