Challenges in Digital Competitiveness for Cyprus
In a recent report by the Economics Research Centre (CypERC) of the University of Cyprus, it was revealed that Cyprus has experienced a decline in digital competitiveness, falling to 51st place among 64 countries in 2023. This marks a six-place drop from the previous year, continuing a downward trend for the third year in a row.
The report pinpoints a general decline across all categories that measure digital competitiveness. Notably, Cyprus has seen a significant drop in the category of
Despite this year’s results, Cyprus’ rankings have shown variability over the years, with positions ranging from 40th in 2020 to 54th in 2019. The report also highlights persistent deficiencies in specific criteria that have continued to impact Cyprus’ ranking adversely. Among these are the percentage of graduates in STEM fields, net inflows of foreign students, mobile broadband subscriptions, business agility, and the use of big data and analytics by businesses. There is also a noted gap in knowledge transfer between universities and businesses.
However, it’s not all negative for Cyprus. The country still performs well in certain aspects such as the employment rate of scientific and technical workers, the percentage of the population with tertiary education, and particularly the percentage of women with tertiary education.
The digital competitiveness ranking is an essential measure for economies, as it evaluates their capacity to adopt and evolve with digital technologies. These technologies are crucial for enhancing the efficiency of state apparatus, businesses, and society. The rankings are derived from an analysis of 54 criteria, which are based on official statistics and survey data. These criteria are categorized into knowledge, technology, and readiness for the future.
The collaboration between CypERC and the Cyprus Employers and Industrialists Federation (Οev) has been instrumental in contributing to the study published by the World Competitiveness Centre of the IMD Business School. As Cyprus looks forward, addressing these highlighted issues will be pivotal in improving its position in the global landscape of digital competitiveness.
