Seoul has topped the global e-government rankings for the sixth time since 2003.
The Digital Governance in Municipalities survey evaluates the digital governance practices of municipal websites, including privacy and security, usability, website content, the type of services offered online and citizen participation.
Released by Rutgers, the survey defines digital governance defined as digital government (the delivery of public services), and digital democracy (which measures citizen participation in governance).
Seoul topped the 2014 rankings, with New York in second place. Hong Kong ranked third, Singapore fourth, and Yerevan, the capital of Armenia coming in fifth place. Auckland was ranked 22nd, and Sydney ranked in 35th place out of the top 100 global municipalities.
Yerevan ranked first for usability, whilst Seoul ranked first for privacy and security, social and citizen engagement, service delivery and content.
The survey concluded that whilst usability and content of municipal websites had improved over previous years, further attention is required in the areas of privacy and security, and citizen and social engagement. Significantly, the report noted that “cities have not yet fully recognized the importance of involving and supporting citizen participation online”.
The report also stated that more must be done to continue bridging the digital divide. The report suggest “developing a comprehensive policy for bridging that divide, include capacity building for municipalities, including information infrastructure, content, applications and access for individuals, and educating residents with appropriate computer education”.
The 2014 Top 10 ranking cities for e-government are:
- Seoul
- New York
- Hong Kong
- Singapore
- Yerevan, Armenia
- Bratislava, Hungary
- Toronto
- Shanghai
- Dubai
- Prague
Read the Sixth Global E -Governance Survey report.