RIYADH: Saudi Arabia secured first place in the electronic and mobile government services maturity index in the Middle East in 2022, according to a recent survey report. In the report, issued by the UN"s Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia, the Kingdom achieved an overall maturity rate during the year of 87.3 percent. This comes after the Kingdom ranked second in the e-government services maturity index in 2021 with an overall maturity rate of 81.9 percent. Prior to that, in 2020, the Kingdom held the fourth position with a rate of 59.9 percent. The index measures the maturity of government services provided through electronic portals and smart applications based on three sub-indicators. The first sub-indicator is the service availability and its development which focuses on measuring the availability of government services and their digital maturity. The Kingdom maintained its leading position in this first sub-indicator, ranking first with a maturity rate of 96 percent. The second sub-indicator measures the level of beneficiaries" use of government services and their satisfaction levels with them. Saudi Arabia has witnessed a 37 percent rise in this sub-indicator during the past two editions, as it also secured first place with a maturity rate of 79.2 percent. Meanwhile, the third indicator is the access or reach to the public which focuses on the delivery of government services to the final beneficiary. With regards to this third sub-indicator, the Kingdom secured third place with a maturity rate of 86.5 percent. The measurements included in the index report take into consideration the works of 18 countries. Moreover, the index focuses on as many as 84 government services necessary for individuals and businesses in priority sectors. Last year, Saudi Arabia achieved the highest leap in the UN’s E-Government Development Index since its inception more than 20 years ago. The Kingdom has advanced 12 places, to be ranked 31st this year, compared to 43rd in 2020, the Saudi Press Agency reported. The index is considered to be an important international indicator that measures the extent of the development of digital governments in the areas of electronic services, communications, infrastructure and human capital worldwide.