(Ecofin Agency) - In 2024, 19 African countries are recognized as strong performers in e-government, with scores of at least 0.5 out of 1. South Africa and Mauritius lead the rankings, while Tunisia has surpassed Seychelles.

South Africa (0.8616), Mauritius (0.7506), and Tunisia (0.6935) top the African continent in the latest E-Government Development Index (EGDI), according to a new report by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA). The “E-Government Survey 2024: Accelerating Digital Transformation for Sustainable Development” report highlights these nations’ success in e-government development.

It evaluates the level of electronic government progress worldwide using the EGDI. This composite index includes three components: the Online Service Index (OSI), the Telecommunications Infrastructure Index (TII), and the Human Capital Index (HCI).

The document notes that globally, e-government development improved, with the average EGDI score rising to 0.6382 in 2024, up from 0.6102 in 2022. Asia saw the highest increase in its average EGDI score (7.7%), followed by Africa (4.8%), the Americas and Oceania (4.1%), and Europe (2.3%).

In addition to the top three African countries, Morocco (0.6841), Seychelles (0.6773), and Egypt (0.6699) made it into the global top 100, with EGDI values above the global average. The African continent's average EGDI score increased to 0.4247 in 2024, compared to 0.4054 in 2022.

The most significant factor driving the improvement in Africa’s e-government performance is the TII, which grew by 27.8%, rising from 0.3546 in 2022 to 0.4534 in 2024. UN DESA attributes this growth to increased investments in digital infrastructure, particularly as countries recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. Strong telecommunications infrastructure is seen as critical to digital growth across the continent.

Notably, South Africa and Mauritius are the only African countries with very high EGDI scores (above 0.75), placing them among global leaders in digital transformation. Seventeen African countries have high EGDI scores (between 0.50 and 0.75), 28 scored in the medium range (0.25 to 0.50), and seven countries received low scores. The lowest-ranked countries include Burundi, Niger, Chad, Eritrea, Somalia, South Sudan, and the Central African Republic. The report notes that these low scores reflect significant gaps in digital infrastructure, online services, and human capital development, requiring urgent attention.

The digitization of public services is part of Africa’s 2020-2030 Digital Transformation Strategy, aimed at harnessing digital technology and innovation for socio-economic development. E-government is also helping African countries address various challenges, including improving legal frameworks for data security, investing in digital education, reducing corruption through system automation, and enhancing administrative efficiency.