Most competitive IT countries named

The UK has the fourth most competitive IT industry.

The US grabbed the top spot in a recent IT industry competitiveness index, with Japan coming second and South Korea third, according to the Economic Intelligence Unit (EIU).

More than 60 countries were scored on a scale of 1 to 100 for factors such as a country's business environment, IT infrastructure and R&D efforts.

Top 10 countries in IT industry competitiveness index* (score out of 100)

1. US (77.4)
2. Japan (72.7)
3. South Korea (67.2)
4. UK (67.1)
5. Australia (66.5)
6. Taiwan (65.8)
7. Sweden (65.4)
8. Denmark (64.9)
9. Canada (64.6)
10. Switzerland (63.6)

*According to the EIU report, The means to compete: Benchmarking IT industry competitiveness

Denis McCauley, EIU director of global technology research, said there is a strong link between the presence of these so-called "competitiveness enablers" in countries and the strength of their IT sector.

All but four out of the top 22 countries in the competitiveness index are also among the world's top countries in terms of IT labour productivity.

McCauley added: "Governments and industry leaders must pay close attention to these enablers if they wish to boost the global competitiveness of their IT industries."

Countries must also balance open competition in IT and protection for intellectual property rights, according to The means to compete: Benchmarking IT industry competitiveness report.

The report said: "All in all, there remains a large gap between the gold standard of countries with the most effective legal regimes, such as the US and UK, and the approach of many emerging economies."

Despite praise for the UK's IP policies, the information commissioner today called on CEOs to take the security of customer and staff information more seriously.