Bangladesh has dropped two positions in the Network Readiness Index (NRI), which evaluates the application and impact of Information and Communication Technology (ICT). In 2024, Bangladesh ranked 89th out of 133 countries with a score of 43.56. This is a decline from its 88th position in 2022 and 91st position in 2023.
In the Asia-Pacific region, Bangladesh lags behind in all four pillars of the index. Neighboring countries such as India (49th), Sri Lanka (95th), and Pakistan (97th) performed better in the rankings. Technology leaders in the region, including Vietnam (45th), Indonesia (48th), and the Philippines (63rd), are also significantly ahead.
The NRI report highlighted Bangladesh’s scores across four pillars: technology (43.73), people (34.09), governance (45.88), and impact (50.53). While Bangladesh ranked 11th among lower-middle-income countries, it performed better than the group average in technology, governance, and impact but fell short in the people pillar.
The findings were published in the “Readiness Index (NRI) 2024” report, jointly prepared by Oxford University’s Saïd Business School and the Portulans Institute. Titled “Building a Digital Tomorrow: Public-Private Investments and Global Collaboration for Digital Readiness,” the report praised Bangladesh for its achievements in areas such as internet user growth, affordability, green energy initiatives, AI-related scientific publications, freedom of choice, international internet bandwidth, mobile internet traffic, and digital transactions.
However, the report also highlighted areas where Bangladesh lags, including investment in AI-driven initiatives, e-commerce legislation, gender disparity in internet use, ICT regulatory environments, online financial services, public cloud computing, and expenditure on research and development in higher education. These weaknesses reflect the need for targeted improvements to strengthen Bangladesh’s digital readiness and competitiveness.
