Indonesia's Information Technology Development Lags Behind ASEAN

Indonesia's information technology development lags behind other Southeast Asian (ASEAN) countries. This is reflected in Indonesia's ICT Development Index (IP-TIK), which stands at only 4.33 (on a scale of 0-10), placing it 111th out of 176 countries.

Indonesia's ranking is significantly lower than Singapore, which ranks 18th globally with an IP-TIK of 8.05, Brunei Darussalam at 53rd with an IP-TIK of 6.75, and Malaysia at 63rd with an IP-TIK of 6.38. Indonesia only surpasses Myanmar, Cambodia, and Timor-Leste.

Indonesia's archipelagic nature presents a major challenge to information technology development. The underdevelopment of eastern Indonesia significantly hinders its IP-TIK from competing with other ASEAN nations. The development of the Palapa Ring fiber optic backbone network project in eastern Indonesia is expected to raise the national IP-TIK.