JAKARTA – Indonesia made a proud achievement in the UN E-Government Survey 2024 by ranking 64th among 193 UN member states, jumping 13 places from 77th in 2022.
This significant increase reflects the Indonesian government’s real efforts in developing and implementing an electronic-based government system (SPBE).
Minister of Administrative and Bureaucratic Reform (PANRB) Abdullah Azwar Anas said that the achievement not only shows the progress of the Indonesian government’s digital transformation, but also has a positive impact on public services and community participation.
“This increase in achievement is Indonesia’s commitment to the digital transformation of the government through sustainable development. And we are always optimistic that the ideals of the Indonesian people to make public services more accessible will be realized through the integration of digital services,” he said in Jakarta, Thursday (19/9).
Based on the results of the survey conducted by the UN in previous years, Indonesia’s ranking showed a significant increase.
Indonesia was ranked 106th in its first participation in 2008. Ten years later, in 2018, Indonesia ranked 107th. This shows a development that tends to stagnate.
Through President Joko Widodo’s commitment in the form of stipulating Presidential Regulation number 95 of 2018 on SPBE, Indonesia experienced a significant increase in 2020 to be ranked 88th. In 2022, Indonesia was ranked 77th. This year, Indonesia jumped to 64th.
Thus, since the implementation of the SPBE policy, Indonesia has significantly improved by 43 ranks, from 107th in 2018 to 64th in 2024.
Themed “Accelerating Digital Transformation for Sustainable Development”, the UN E-Government Survey 2024 aims to help member states identify their respective strengths and challenges in digital government implementation.
Especially in 2024, it has also included a strategy to apply artificial intelligence in improving the quality of public services.
In this survey, Indonesia managed to score 0.7991, which placed Indonesia, for the first time, in the Very High E-Government Development Index (VHEGDI) category.
The survey assesses a country’s performance based on three main dimensions: Online Service Index (OSI), Telecommunication Infrastructure Index (TII), and Human Capital Index (HCI). Indonesia performed quite well in each of these dimensions.
The score of 0.8035 for OSI shows that many government services can now be easily accessed digitally by the public.
In addition, Indonesia scored 0.8645 for TII, which reflects the strengthening of networks and internet access in all regions, including remote areas.
Meanwhile, for HCI, Indonesia scored 0.7293, which is already above the world and Asian regional average.
Indonesia also made significant progress in the E-Participation Index by moving up two places from 37th to 35th, with a score of 0.7945.
This improvement reflects increased public participation in digital government, showing that citizens are increasingly actively involved in the decision-making process.
Better participation is expected to strengthen democracy and increase transparency in government.
Furthermore, Indonesia recorded a score of 0.8718 in the Open Government Data Index, successfully maintaining its position in the Very High Open Government Data Index (VHOGDI) category.
This achievement demonstrates the government’s commitment to ensuring public access to data, which promotes transparency and facilitates public participation in monitoring and decision-making.
The UN emphasizes that the digital divide remains a major issue, especially in developing countries.
Unequal access and varying capacities could threaten progress towards the 2030 Agenda.
This requires countries, including Indonesia, to accelerate efforts and innovations to bridge the gap.
At the global level, the gap in access to and utilization of digital technology has the potential to widen the gap between developed and developing countries.
Minister Anas said that the survey results need to be followed up with improvements.
The Ministry of PANRB as the Chair of the National SPBE Coordination Team takes this as a momentum to strengthen the implementation of SPBE throughout Indonesia.
The former head of LKPP said that cooperation with various parties is needed, especially in improving telecommunications infrastructure, human resource development, and effective digital governance.
A targeted improvement strategy should focus on strengthening telecommunications infrastructure and improving governance and services.
Training and capacity building for government officials and the public is essential so that technology can be utilized optimally.
Minister Anas added that the Indonesian government’s great commitment in digital transformation is also shown by the existence of INA DIGITAL as GovTech Indonesia.
“Currently, we already have INA DIGITAL which consists of Indonesia’s best digital talents to help realize the integration of digital services,” he said.
In the near future, the government will also conduct a gradual limited release of the three initial products developed by INA DIGITAL.
The Phase 1 Limited Release (Alpha), which is planned for the 4th week of September 2024, will release the INA ku, INA gov, and INA pas applications as a new era of government digital transformation.
Digital government is one of the pillars in supporting national digital transformation, becoming the main strategy in building an effective and inclusive government, in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
“It is hoped that all elements of the nation can contribute to the development of digital government, prioritizing collaboration and innovation to face global challenges,” he concluded.
