Digital Societies in Asia Pacific: Harnessing emerging technologies to advance digital nations

This report is the GSMA’s eighth annual Digital Societies report for Asia Pacific. The 2022 edition introduced the concept of digital nations, which refers to the aspiration of governments in Asia Pacific to integrate digital technologies and services into every sector of the economy. It makes digitalisation the core element of nation building and a means to achieve sustainable and inclusive economic growth. This marked the beginning of the transition of this report series from focusing on digital societies to digital nations. Rather than a pivot, it is a continuation of the overall digitalisation journey.

This report examines the five key components of a digital nation: infrastructure, innovation, data governance, security and people, and maps the aspirations of governments in the region to these components. The report considers the role of emerging technologies, such as AI, blockchain, drones and quantum computing, in building digital nations. It examines the steps required to ensure that the development and application of these technologies occur in a safe, responsible and sustainable manner.

As digital technologies and services play an increasingly central role in the economies of Asia Pacific countries, two vital needs are a whole-of-government approach (WGA) and international collaboration, in view of the cross-sector and cross-border implications of digital policies and initiatives.