16 Oct 2008

Tonga's govt website ranked 19th best of 198 countries

8:11 am on 16 October 2008

The Government of Tonga's website has been ranked the 19th best of 198 countries whose sites were assessed by the Brookings Institute.

The Digital Government: Technology and Public Sector Performance study, an annual World Bank supported event, is an assessment of 1,167 national government websites around the world.

The study analyses a range of government sites within each country to get a full sense of what is available in particular nations, with a focus on the Prime Ministers Office, Cabinet Offices, and Parliament.

Tonga's Prime Minister, Dr Fred Sevele, says the 2008 ranking is an outstanding achievement given that in 2007 Tonga was ranked number 189 in the world.

South Korea topped the list, the United States was 4th, Australia 6th and New Zealand 31st.

Samoa, Kiribati and Papua New Guinea were all near the bottom of the list.