Tunisia has been ranked first in Africa in a global study that measured the use, utility and impact of the Web on people and nations globally. Zimbabwe came in last.
The study, dubbed The Web Index, was conducted by the World Wide Web Foundation. It ranked 61 countries according to their progress and use of the Web, to provide an analytical tool for researchers and a resource for policymakers in the public and private sectors as well as NGOs.
Tunisia took first position in Africa and ranked thirtieth globally after making important gains in improving online access and the amount of Web Content. Despite seeing declines over the past five years in terms of institutional and Communications Infrastructure, Tunisia has seen web users rise to 39 percent from 17 percent back in 2007.
Tunisia topped Africa in different measurement categories including Web usage, Web content and social impact of Internet on its people. In contrast, Zimbabwe was ranked last both in Africa and globally by the study. According to the research, Zimbabwe suffers from a vicious cycle of poor infrastructure and high costs of access.
South Africa was ranked second regionally, followed by Egypt (3) and Mauritius (4). Kenya takes first place in terms of Economic Impact of the Web, though it ranks fifth in the region overall.
Mauritius was ranked top in Africa in terms of readiness, which refers to the extent to which countries have expanded their communications and Institutional Infrastructure to build upon and provide greater access to the Web.
Out of the 61 countries studied, 18 came from Africa, 9 from America, 14 from Asia Pacific, 15 from Europe and 5 from Middle East. Globally, Sweden tops the rankings, followed by the US, the UK, Canada, and Finland.
