SA has lost 10 places in the Networked Readiness Index (NRI) of the World Economic Forum's Global IT Report 2006-2007.
With the exception of Nigeria, Tunisia and Algeria, countries on the African continent saw downward trends in the rankings.
Released on Wednesday, the report provides comparative coverage of 122 economies around the world. The NRI measures countries' propensity to leverage the opportunities offered by ICT for development and increased competitiveness, says the report.
SA's spot, at 47 in this year's index, is down 10 places from last year's 37, and 13 places down from its 34th position in the 2004-2005 NRI.
Its best performing variables were in prevalence of foreign technology licensing, efficiency of legal framework, effectiveness of law-making bodies, financial market sophistication, and quality of management schools.
On the down side, quality of maths and science education, quality of the education system, availability of scientists and engineers, and quality of competition in the ISP sector saw SA indexed at 90 and below.
Summing up Africa's performance, the report notes Sub-Saharan Africa performance - with the exception of Nigeria at 88 in the NRI - is less positive than its international counterparts.
Lack of infrastructure
"The traditional ICT champions in the region are all losing ground. Although the region has quickly increased its ICT penetration rates in recent years and its markets retain great potential for investors, it has not moved fast enough compared with the rest of the world. A lack of extensive and efficient infrastructure, overregulated business environments and poor governance and education standards prevent sub-Saharan Africa from fully leveraging ICT for increased development," it explains.
As for the Middle East, North Africa region, the report reveals: "Tunisia (35), Morocco (76) and Algeria (80) have all improved their networked readiness from last year, while Egypt is down 14 places to 77. Israel, in 18th position, remains the incontestable leader in the Middle East, with outstanding levels of technological sophistication, innovation and ICT penetration.
"The Gulf countries, except for Kuwait which is down eight positions to 54th this year, remain rather stable in comparison to last year, with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) leading the region at 29th. Indeed, the UAE has been placing a growing emphasis on the role of ICT for development in recent years, with the launch of a number of ICT initiatives to create ICT-related clusters."
Denmark topped the index for the first time, with last year's leader, the US, dropping six positions to seven.
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