However, Taiwan leads other countries in Asia-Pacific at 7th place followed by Hong Kong, Korea, Australia, and Japan occupying ranks 11, 14, 15, and 16, respectively. The survey described Taiwan's achievement as 'noteworthy' as it gained eight positions from last year and entered in the top 10 for the first time.

Singapore, in second place overall, maintains its commanding position, having achieved a top-three ranking for the fourth consecutive year.

According to the report, Singapore has an excellent regulatory environment, world-class levels of education and training, and a government that is committed to enhancing the use of the latest technologies across all sectors of the economy -- all in a context of excellent macroeconomic management and persistent efforts to improve the institutional environment for economic activity.

The report also indicated India broadly maintained its position with respect to last year (at 40th place) while China dropped nine positions to 50th place, widening the performance gap with respect to India.

Nordic countries maintain their positions at the top of the rankings, with Denmark, Iceland, Finland, and Sweden at numbers 3, 4, 5 and 8, respectively. Nordic countries have registered consistently high ICT penetration rates and have occupied places in the top 10 positions over the last five years.