Morocco leader in electronic security in Africa – Global Digital Quality of Life Index

Morocco ranks first in Africa in matters of electronic security, as revealed in the 2023 edition of the global Digital Quality of Life Index, established by Surf Shark, a security company based in Amsterdam. The Kingdom has also advanced two spots globally compared to the previous ranking.

According to the authors of the DQL Index, “electronic security reflects a country’s willingness to combat cybercrime and its commitment to protecting online privacy.”

Morocco’s strategy to combat cybercrime is yielding positive results. It is the leader in electronic security in Africa, one of the five main indicators of the 2023 DQL Index. This ranking evaluates 121 countries, including 25 African countries, based on data provided by organizations such as the United Nations, the World Bank, and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).

In this indicator, Morocco surpasses Benin, Tunisia, and Mauritius. South Africa and Nigeria, two major African powers, hold the 8th and 9th positions, respectively.

On a global scale, Morocco occupies the 40th position (up from 42nd in 2022 and 87th in 2021), ahead of countries like Saudi Arabia (42nd) and the United States (43rd). According to the creators of this index, “electronic security reflects a country’s willingness to combat cybercrime and its commitment to protecting online privacy.”

In addition to electronic security, the index also evaluates countries’ performance in four other indicators: “financial accessibility to the internet” (internet access cost); connection quality; electronic infrastructure; and electronic governance. In this overall ranking, Morocco also stands out on the continent by ranking 2nd behind South Africa, an improvement of one position compared to the 2022 ranking.

Globally, Morocco ranks 75th, which represents a drop of 4 positions, but it remains far ahead of Algeria (92nd worldwide). France, Finland, Denmark, Germany, and Luxembourg dominate this ranking. Making up the rest of the top ten, Spain came in 6th, followed by Estonia, Austria, Switzerland, and Singapore.

Morocco’s highest scores, after electronic security, are found in the “financial accessibility to the internet” indicator, where it has moved up three places from 78th to 72nd worldwide.

However, there is still much work to be done in the “electronic infrastructure” category, where Morocco is ranked 87th (compared to 83rd in 2022), as well as in “internet quality,” especially in terms of speed and stability (94th compared to 83rd in 2022), despite noted improvements in mobile speed (66th compared to 80th in 2022).

“Electronic infrastructure determines a country’s level of digital development and inclusion. A highly functional digital infrastructure allows users to regularly use the internet in various areas, such as education, e-commerce, entertainment, banking, etc.,” explains Surf Shark.

Another area that needs improvement is electronic governance, which includes online services and adaptability to artificial intelligence. In this indicator, Morocco has dropped two positions, moving from 88th to 90th place.