Notable strides in e-governance among Southeast Asian countries were emphasized in the latest United Nations’ E-Government Survey, with Singapore emerging as the top performer in Asia and third-highest performer globally. Aside from Singapore, Brunei, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Vietnam were also highlighted as making considerable progress in improving digital governance as well as digital infrastructure and connectivity.
Indonesia and Vietnam’s improved rankings were attributed to significant government efforts to enable greater access to e-government services through investment, digital literacy programs, and related initiatives. In Indonesia, the government has begun the phased rollout of INA Digital to simplify government bureaucracy by integrating up to 27,000 applications and online platforms into a single public service digital platform. Meanwhile, Vietnam aims to rank among the top 30 countries in the UN E-Government Survey by 2030 through improvements in public services, public engagement, government operations. Under Project 06, which aims to enhance application of population, identification, and electronic authentication data, 25 out of 25 identified essential public services have been provided online, leading to an estimated annual savings of VND 3.5 trillion (US$138 million). Effective e-governance has been increasingly integrated into Southeast Asian countries’ digital strategies and public service delivery to improve efficiency and accessibility of services.
