The United Nations University – Operating Unit on Policy-driven Electronic Governance (UNU-EGOV), represented by its Director, Delfina Soares, participated in the Launch Event of the GovTech Maturity Index (GTMI) 2025, organized by the World Bank.
Speaking on the panel, Delfina Soares focused on the digital citizen engagement component of GTMI, noting that, despite steady progress since 2020, it remains the lowest-performing dimension among the areas assessed by the GovTech Maturity Index.
“If we look more closely at the citizen engagement component - and if I also bring to the reflection also the UN E-Government Development Index (EGDI) - it becomes very clear that the overall performance of countries on the citizen engagement dimension is still quite low. Even at the local level, where we might expect stronger results, evidence tells us the same story. Through the UN Local Online Service Index (LOSI), we see that even at the municipal level, where citizens are close to the government structures and services, and usually more keen on participate, digital citizen engagement remains very limited,” highlighted Soares.
The Director of UNU-EGOV stressed that the main barriers are not technical, but rather of a political and institutional nature. “This is not primarily a technical challenge; it is largely more about political courage, institutional maturity and the incentives that shape public sector behaviour,” she explained.
Reflecting on broader digital transformation trends, Delfina Soares mentioned that governments tend to prioritize the efforts in areas such as core government systems and digital service delivery, comparingly with action in promoting participatory governance. “Most governments are more comfortable on digitalizing processes, than on digitalizing accountability, which is strongly connecting with participatory initiatives,” she observed, pointing to the ways in which citizen engagement can challenge established power structures and decision-making practices,” she said.
An additional reason that may justify why we continue to see significantly lower levels of maturity in digital citizen engagement compared to other dimensions of GovTech was put forward by Delfina: “Donors' priorities and reform narratives have historically emphasized building things, platforms, systems, and infrastructure. For years, the focus has been on service delivery and efficiency, while citizen engagement has often been framed as a ‘nice thing to have’ rather than institutionalizing participatory practices.”
Soares further addressed structural constraints affecting citizen engagement, including public sector incentive systems that prioritize quantitative outputs over closing feedback loops, persistent digital divides, concerns related to misinformation and risk amplification.
The 2025 edition of the GovTech Maturity Index evaluates digital government transformation across 197 economies, encompassing four key dimensions: core government systems, digital public service delivery, digital citizen engagement, and GovTech enablers. This edition also introduces new indicators on Artificial Intelligence, Green Technologies, and Digital Identity, reflecting emerging priorities in an increasingly AI-driven governance landscape.
Key Findings Of The GovTech Maturity Index 2025
The GovTech Maturity Index (GTMI) 2025 shows that global progress in public sector digital transformation since 2022 has been positive but uneven, with a widening digital divide between economies with high GovTech maturity (Group A) and those with low maturity (Group D). While higher-income economies have generally advanced, several low-income countries have stagnated or regressed, and significant regional disparities persist, with Europe and Central Asia and North America leading, and Africa lagging behind.
State of GovTech Around the World, by GTMI Groups, 2025
In Core Government Systems, notable progress has been recorded in the adoption of government cloud solutions, enterprise architecture, interoperability frameworks and service buses, reflecting increased interest in data-driven governance. However, setbacks have been observed in payroll and human resource management systems, particularly in contexts affected by fragility, conflict and violence.
Digital public service delivery has expanded significantly, with over 75 per cent of economies now offering key online services such as tax portals, e-payments, customs services and job portals. The use of digital identity systems continues to grow, supporting access to online services across nearly 60 per cent of economies.
By contrast, digital citizen engagement remains the least mature GovTech dimension. While some progress has been made in the adoption of citizen feedback platforms, challenges persist in sustaining open data and open government portals, limiting meaningful interaction between governments and citizens.
Progress has also been recorded in GovTech enablers, including digital transformation strategies, public sector innovation policies and digital skills development. However, the report highlights a persistent gap between the development of GovTech systems and the monitoring of their actual use and impact, underlining the need for stronger evidence-based approaches to guide reform and investment.
