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India ranks 73rd in UNCTAD’s B2C E-commerce Index 2019
Dec-05-2019

India has moved seven places up and ranked 73rd out of 152 countries in the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development's (UNCTAD) Business-to-Consumer (B2C) E-commerce Index 2019. A B2C E-commerce index measures an economy's preparedness to support online shopping. European nations hold eight of the top 10 spots on the index, which ranks 152 countries on their readiness to engage in online commerce. The only non-European countries on the top 10 list are Singapore (3) and Australia (10).

According to the report, in India Internet shoppers as a share of Internet users was 11 percent and Internet shoppers as a share of population 3 percent in 2017. Faring better than India are countries such as Iran, ranked 42nd, Kazakhstan (57), Azerbaijan (62), Vietnam (64) and Tunisia (70). Switzerland is ranked second on the list, followed by Singapore, Finland, the United Kingdom, Denmark, Norway, Ireland, Germany and Australia. Countries are scored on the access to secure internet servers, the reliability of postal services and infrastructure, and the portion of their population that uses the internet and has an account with a financial institution or mobile-money-service provider.

The report noted that there is an urgent need to help less prepared countries improve their infrastructure and build trust among their population. Otherwise, their businesses and people will miss out on the opportunities offered by the digital economy, and they will be less prepared to deal with various challenges. UNCTAD's index also highlights the need to improve the reliability and availability of statistics, especially in developing countries. Typically, countries that are the least prepared for the digital economy also have the least amount of statistical information to help their policymakers make well-informed decisions. 

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