Driven by a comprehensive digital transformation roadmap and COVID-19 response strategy, the government of Qatar has attained its latest digitisation accomplishment, ranking fourth globally for the provision of digital services and subsequent adoption, according to the Boston Consulting Group’s (BCG) report released on Monday.

Entitled ‘Digital Government in the GCC: Accelerating Citizen Trust’, the BCG’s study shows that the level of satisfaction of digital government services in Qatar are on par with the averages of developing countries at 58 percent.

Additionally, the report said, the digital service offering in Qatar has been met with a positive response, with the country’s citizens placed highly in terms of frequency of access. In total, 53 percent of Qatari respondents revealed they use digital government services once per week minimum, six percent above the global average.

“The disruptive nature of COVID-19 is universally acknowledged, yet subsequent repercussions have also demonstrated the unquestionable necessity for digital government services,” BCG Partner and Associate Director Rami Riad Mourtada said.

“With this in mind, action to ensure these services are seamlessly available to citizens in the post-pandemic climate with even greater capabilities is essential. Already, Qatar had made sizeable progress in this direction. The Qatari government’s aspirations to deliver and scale new digital services have translated to reality, helping citizens while preserving their health and well-being,” Mourtada said.

The scope and variety of digital government services expanded rapidly following the outbreak, with COVID-19 awareness, testing, tracing, information coverage, quarantine compliance, volunteer coordination, and financial support offerings all emerging through online government portals. This applies to the GCC in particular, where governments were central to the availability and delivery of numerous social and healthcare services.

In Qatar, the report said, the Hukoomi portal has successfully served as a one-stop-shop for digital government benefits, making government information and services more efficient, effective, and accessible for citizens, visitors, and businesses.

“The demographics of today provide a significant advantage to Qatar and the GCC with 54 percent of regional citizens aged 24 or below,” BCG Managing Director and Partner Lars Littig said. “As digital natives, younger generations are greatly enthused by the implementation of digital services and expect world-class quality, enhanced convenience, and greater accessibility. These traits are driving the widespread digital services adaption being witnessed across the region, as is urbanisation. At present, approximately 85 percent of those residing in the GCC live in urban environments and use digital government services frequently,” Littig said.

The Digital Government Citizen Survey (DGCS) study spanning 36 countries, 26 digital government services, and almost 25,000 individual responses also highlighted other findings.

GCC citizens are satisfied with digital government services, appreciating benefits including understandable language, multiple platform accessibility, and easy access to information. Meanwhile, real-time support and assistance were identified as a pain point, with other concerns in Qatar relating to personal information security. Respondents expressed concerns regarding transparency, collection, and storage, while 90 percent of regional correspondents attributed their personal information worries to artificial intelligence (AI) technologies.

“The value that digital government services have provided to citizens is abundantly clear. However, concerns have arisen among end-users with regards to data and AI,” said Mourtada. “The Qatari government has established itself as a digital services leader, joining a distinguished category that includes other GCC governments. Their respective and shared success will serve as a source of inspiration for others on the international stage, with leaderships sure to look at these countries as they aim to emulate their digital government services achievements,” added Littig.

“In recent times, urbanisation, younger generations, and prudent pandemic response actions have also contributed to the emergence of further opportunities. Ensuring that citizen concerns are permanently addressed will drive additional success, allowing them to elevate their standing as innovative services and future delivery models pioneers,” he said.