Report: UK holds ICT in lower esteem than rival countries

The UK government ranks 38th internationally in terms of how highly it rates the role of ICT in improving the country's overall competitiveness, according to the annual World Economic Forum (WEF) Global IT report released today.

The WEF report looks at which countries are performing best and worst within different parts of the ICT market.

In 38th place, the UK falls behind obvious competitors such as the US (22nd), Germany (34th), France (30th), Sweden (8th), Australia (17th) and New Zealand (18th).

It also lags behind Tunisia (7th), Estonia (19th) and Gambia (23rd).

However, over the past 12 months, the government has implemented a series of measures to enhance the role of technology and research as one of the drivers for economic growth.

Among the government's many initiatives has been the establishment of a tech hub in the East End of London.

The government also revealed in its 2011 Budget that it plans to protect the science budget, and also confirmed £100m of new capital funding in 2011-12 for science and innovation campuses.

The Budget also contained funding for a new initiative aimed at fostering high-tech startups. The StartUp Britain campaign offers fledgling businesses a benefits package worth about £1,500 each.

These initiatives appear to have had some impact on the rankings, as the UK has jumped three places compared with last year's results, when it was placed 41st.