Switzerland climbs to top of global e-commerce index

Europe remains by far the most prepared region for e-commerce, according to the index, but "wide gaps with countries with the lowest level of readiness need to be addressed by tackling weaknesses in those nations to spread the benefits of digital transformation to more people," UNCTAD said in a press release.

The index scores countries on the basis of access to secure internet servers, reliability of postal services and infrastructure, and the portion of their population that uses the internet and has an account with a financial institution or a provider of mobile money services.

In 2019, 97 per cent of the Swiss population used the internet. Switzerland has replaced the Netherlands at the top of the index.

The 10 developing countries with the highest scores are all from Asia and classified as high-income or upper-middle-income economies. While at the other end of the spectrum, least developed countries occupy 18 of the bottom 20 positions.

The two largest B2C e-commerce markets in the world, China and the United States, rank 55th and 12th respectively in the index. Although both countries lead in several absolute measures, they lag in relative comparisons.

For instance, internet penetration in the United States is lower than in any of the economies in the top 10, while China ranks 87th in the world on this indicator. As for online shopping penetration, the United States ranks 12th while China takes the 33rd slot.

“The e-commerce divide remains huge,” said Shamika N Sirimanne, director of UNCTAD’s division that prepares the annual index. “Even among G20 countries, the extent to which people shop online ranges from 3 per cent in India to 87 per cent in the United Kingdom.”

Also, in Canada, the United States and 10 European nations, more than 70 per cent of the adult population makes purchases online. But that proportion is well below 10 per cent in most low- and lower-middle-income countries.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has made it more urgent to ensure the countries trailing behind are able to catch up and strengthen their e-trade readiness,” Sirimanne said. The index, she said, underscores the need for governments to do more to ensure more people can avail of e-commerce opportunities.

“Otherwise, their businesses and people will miss out on the opportunities offered by the digital economy, and they will be less prepared to deal with various challenges,” she added.

ALCHEMPro News Desk (RKS)