Evolution of E-Government in North African Countries: An Analytical Study for the Period (2016-2022)

Abstract

This study aims to assess the progress of North African governments (Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, and Egypt) in implementing e-governance and the key achievements made during the period from 2016 to 2022, based on the E-Government Development Index (EGDI) and its sub-indices (Online Service Index - OSI, Human Capital Index - HCI, and Telecommunication Infrastructure Index - TII). To conduct this study, we employed the descriptive method to define e-government and the EGDI, the analytical method to analyze the results of the e-government development indicators, and the comparative method to compare the rankings of countries both in Africa and globally based on the different indices. The results indicate that Tunisia leads North African countries in terms of e-government development, being the only African country to achieve an EGDI value that exceeded the global average of (0.6102) in Africa in 2022. Tunisia is followed by Morocco, Egypt, and Algeria in last place. Additionally, North African countries remain far behind global levels in e-government services, highlighting the need for these countries to intensify efforts to achieve their desired goals and reach higher levels of e-governance, which would ultimately improve public services and promote economic growth and development.