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In Southeast Asia, Vietnam was behind Singapore (1st), Malaysia (21st), and Thailand (38th). (Photo: Vietnam Investment Review)

Vietnam is the world’s second-biggest improver after Myanmar. The country gained an overall score of 64 points out of 100 in the index published by global consultancy Roland Berger, which said it measured and analyzed digital inclusion levels of 82 emerging and developed economies based on accessibility, affordability, ability, and attitude. Both Myanmar and Vietnam have achieved significant infrastructure improvements in mobile data availability and coverage, the consultancy said.

In Southeast Asia, Vietnam was behind Singapore (1st), Malaysia (21st), and Thailand (38th).

In terms of individual digital access, Vietnam scored 61, up 16 points in the previous ranking. The country also improved significantly in terms of affordability, which considers financial capability to pay for digital access, scoring 64, up eight points, said VN Express.

Roland Berger's index measures digital inclusiveness by scoring countries in four categories: accessibility, affordability, ability (or digital literacy), and attitude (trust and enthusiasm) towards ICT. (Photo: Consultancy Asia)

In the attitude factor, which considers an individual’s trust and enthusiasm in harnessing digital tools, Vietnam scored 76, up 12 points. Along with on its digital transformation journey, Vietnam meanwhile made gains thanks to its government's plans for Industry 4.0, foreign investments, and upgrade of state-of-the-art 4G and 5G infrastructure, it added. Vietnamese telecoms started piloting 4G, fourth-generation broadband cellular network technology, succeeding 3G, in December 2015.

An order requiring phones sold in Vietnam to support 4G and 5G in accordance with new national standards is set to take effect in July this year. Vietnamese telecom providers have been trialing 5G since 2019, and are expected to roll it out commercially in June. As of September last year, there were 88 million smartphone users in Vietnam, up 14 percent year-on-year; 83 million of them 4G capable.

A government program to turn Vietnam into a digital nation approved by Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc last year wants 80 percent of the population to carry out transactions digitally and aims to provide broadband Internet and 5G connections nationwide in the next five years.

Vietnam is the world’s second-biggest improver after Myanmar. (Photo: Consultancy Asia)

The report defines digital inclusion as the empowerment of individuals and societies to effectively use information and communication technologies (ICT), enabling them to contribute to and benefit from today's digitalized economies and societies. According to the report, a growing "digital divide" exists between the "haves" and the "have-nots" in South-east Asia.

Roland Berger's index measures digital inclusiveness by scoring countries in four categories: accessibility, affordability, ability (or digital literacy), and attitude (trust and enthusiasm) towards ICT. Accessibility is the most important requirement, with a weightage of 40 percent in the scores. This is followed by affordability (30 percent); ability (20 percent) and attitude (10 percent).

Data were compiled for the index from sources such as government publications, global databases, and international surveys said Business Times.

Singapore took the top spot among the 82 countries ranked, followed by Sweden, Denmark, Netherlands, and the United States. As a region, however, South-east Asia ranked only fifth of seven global regions included in the index, and below the global average.

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