Uruguay was the top Digital Riser over the last three years

By Pittaluga Abogados

The Digital Riser Report 2021 analyses and ranks the changes that countries around the globe have seen in their digital competitiveness between 2018 and 2020. Based on the research, it define’s a country’s digital competitiveness in two main dimensions: its ecosystem and its mindset.

“Despite the wakeup call of the pandemic, our report highlights that digital technologies are still not a priority for many governments,” comments European Center for Digital Competitiveness Founder & Director, professor Philip Meissner. “This is surprising, as the way that governments manage and navigate the digital transition of their economies will determine significantly how competitive and prosperous their countries will be in the decades ahead.”


In Latin America & the Caribbean, Uruguay ranked first out of the top 3 Digital Risers. Uruguay was the top Digital Riser over the last three years. Uruguay’s outperformance can mainly be explained by its “Agenda Uruguay Digital 2020” lighthouse initiative, which aims to promote its digital transformation in a sustainable and inclusive way. Also, Uruguay’s National Research and Innovation Agency (ANII) launched Proyecta Uruguay in 2019, a programme which aims to make the country more attractive for innovative startups and to entrepreneurs.

Notably, fewer than half of the region’s countries improved on their relative digital competitiveness. When breaking down the results, Brazil and Colombia improved the most in the ecosystem and mindset dimensions, respectively.