Jamaica

Jamaica has emerged as a regional leader in digital development, particularly in public infrastructure and intellectual property reform. It has deployed over 380 public Wi‑Fi hotspots nationwide, significantly expanding access in underserved areas. The country also ranks 4th in Latin America and the Caribbean for intellectual property protection, supported by the 2020 Patents and Designs Act, which modernised outdated IP laws and aligned Jamaica with key international treaties.

The country has shown strong progress in digital government and regulatory reform. The Data Protection Act (2020) is now fully in force, with over 1,000 entities registered as data controllers, and a dedicated Office of the Information Commissioner is actively overseeing compliance. Jamaica is also implementing a national digital identity system (NIDS), backed by interoperable platforms like the Jamaica Data Exchange, and is investing in AI readiness through policy frameworks, public AI labs, and education programs.

Jamaica is among the top 8 countries in the region for digital business capacity, according to World Bank rankings, reflecting the relative strength of its digital firms and entrepreneurship. Its e‑commerce sector is growing by over 20% annually, and the country is taking part in global initiatives like the ’50 in 5′ digital public infrastructure program. While challenges remain in cybersecurity, logistics, and skills development, Jamaica’s coordinated policy approach, public investments, and institutional reforms place it among the most digitally advanced Caribbean nations.

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Gabon

Gabon is one of the most digitally connected countries in Central Africa. As of early 2025, internet penetration reached 71.9 percent, with approximately 1.84 million users—a significant figure given the population of around 2.57 million. This places Gabon well ahead of its neighbours—for example, Cameroon’s rate is around 42 percent, and the Democratic Republic of Congo’s is under 30 percent. Mobile broadband connectivity is strong: mobile subscriptions exceed the population (124 percent of total population), with 88 percent being broadband-capable through 3G, 4G, or 5G networks.

In the broader Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS), Gabon leads in e‑commerce readiness: about 38.3 percent of the population is considered prepared for online shopping. Gabon’s internet services are also generally recognised as reliable and relatively affordable, which supports its comparatively advanced digital infrastructure in the region.

On the regulatory and infrastructure side, Gabon has a modest but growing digital ecosystem. Internet resilience metrics indicate medium capacity at around 42 percent, with only three data centers and one active Internet Exchange Point (IXP). Gabon has completed its segment of the Central African Backbone (CAB) fiber‑optic project, which greatly enhanced national connectivity.

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Burkina Faso

Burkina Faso combines relatively low internet penetration with a strong security and governance profile in the digital sphere. Internet Society’s 2024 country report notes that around 20% of the population are internet users, but the country scores 70.39 on the Global Cybersecurity Index, placing it among the better-prepared cybersecurity environments in Africa, and reports three data centres and two active IXPs.

The country is also an early mover on data protection in Francophone sub-Saharan Africa. Burkina Faso adopted a data-protection law in 2004 and, in 2007, became the first French-speaking country in sub-Saharan Africa with an operational data-protection authority, the Commission de l’Informatique et des Libertés (CIL). This framework has since been updated and is complemented by participation in regional instruments and initiatives on cross-border data transfers.

On infrastructure and emerging tech, Burkina Faso was the first West African nation to deploy a government cloud, the G-Cloud, launched in 2015 to host e-government, e-learning and e-health services over a national fibre backbone. In AI, the country hosts CITADEL, an Interdisciplinary Centre of Excellence in AI for Development that serves Burkina Faso and the sub-region and is part of the pan-African AI4D network, positioning the country as a regional reference point for francophone AI research and capacity-building.

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Israel

Israel’s digital landscape in 2025 reflects a nation at the forefront of technological innovation, underpinned by robust infrastructure, a dynamic tech ecosystem, and proactive regulatory frameworks.

Israel boasts high internet penetration, with over 90% of its population online. The country has significantly expanded its fibre-optic broadband network, enhancing connectivity nationwide. Initiatives like Project Nimbus, a $1.2 billion collaboration with Amazon Web Services and Google Cloud, have modernised public sector IT systems and ensured data sovereignty by establishing local cloud services.

Israel’s data protection framework is anchored in the Protection of Privacy Law, 1981, overseen by the Privacy Protection Authority. In August 2024, the Knesset approved Amendment No. 13 to this law, introducing significant changes such as expanded definitions, reduced obligations for database registration, mandatory appointment of privacy protection officers for certain organizations, and enhanced enforcement powers for the Privacy Protection Authority.

Israel is internationally recognised as a cybersecurity powerhouse, with a robust ecosystem comprising numerous startups, established companies, and research institutions. In 2024, Israeli cybersecurity firms raised $4 billion, more than double the amount from 2023, driven by increased needs for cloud and AI security. Notably, Google’s parent company, Alphabet, announced its largest acquisition to date by purchasing Israeli cybersecurity firm Wiz for $32 billion, aiming to enhance its competitiveness in the cloud services market.

In December 2023, Israel unveiled its first comprehensive national AI policy, developed collaboratively by the Ministry of Innovation and the Ministry of Justice. The policy outlines ethical principles aligned with OECD guidelines and recommends a sector-based, risk-driven regulatory framework focusing on transparency and accountability. Additionally, in March 2024, Israel signed the world’s first binding international treaty on AI, led by the Council of Europe, committing to uphold democratic values, human rights, and the rule of law in AI development and deployment.

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Dominican Republic

Digital Snapshot – Key Policies and Laws

The Dominican Republic’s current digital governance is anchored in Agenda Digital 2030 and the executive coordination structures built around it, including the Gabinete de Transformación Digital. In global benchmarking, the country sits in the ‘High EGDI’ group in the UN E-Government Survey 2024, ranked 85 overall (EGDI 0.7013), placing it among the stronger performers in the Caribbean. Service delivery is increasingly consolidated through the Portal Único de Servicios, framed as a single entry point for government services and transactions.

Dominican Republic’s ‘Agenda Digital 2030’

The digital roadmap with the steering wheel: Approved by Presidential Decree 527-21, the Dominican Republic’s Agenda Digital 2030 is the government’s official, whole-of-country blueprint for digital transformation, with the decree explicitly allowing annual updates. Rather than treating ‘digital’ as a single-sector project, it frames a cross-cutting programme meant to align connectivity, public services, skills, and the digital economy under one policy umbrella. Implementation is designed to be practical: the decree assigns delivery through action plans led by the Gabinete de Transformación Digital, providing a coordination mechanism across institutions rather than leaving it to isolated pilots. Public communications around the launch also stress inclusion, including broadband access and closing digital divides, while pointing to an institutional environment that aims to be open, participatory, and rights-based.

On cybersecurity, the country has an executive-approved Estrategia Nacional de Ciberseguridad 2030, adopted via Decree 313-22, aimed at strengthening national cyber capacity and resilience. Operationally, incident response is organised around CSIRT-RD, with the national profile published by the Centro Nacional de Ciberseguridad (CNCS) following RFC 2350 conventions.

For data governance and openness, the baseline privacy framework is Law 172-13 – Protection of Personal Data. Transparency and re-use of public-sector information are supported by the Política Nacional de Datos Abiertos, approved by Decree 103-22. The country also participates in the Open Government Partnership cycle through the Fifth Open Government Action Plan (2022–2024), which includes multiple ‘open state’ and digital commitments.

In the digital economy layer, Law 126-02 on e-commerce, digital documents, and digital signatures provides legal recognition for electronic transactions and trust services. Its implementation is detailed in Decree 335-03, which governs the application of the law and promotes legal certainty for digital contracting and signatures. These two instruments are the main ‘e-commerce enablin’ legal backbone referenced across public and private digital transaction systems.

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Regarding connectivity policy, Decree 539-20 mandates broadband and declares next-generation broadband access a national priority and instructs INDOTEL to formulate a Plan Nacional de Banda Ancha. On ‘5G-enabling’ steps, INDOTEL has publicly launched licensing processes for key mobile bands (700/2300/3600 MHz) aligned with next-generation mobile services. Internationally, resilience is supported by multiple subsea landing sites – Santo Domingo, Punta Cana, Puerto Plata – listed in TeleGeography’s submarine cable landing-point records. Domestically, Internet Society Pulse reports 3 active IXPs with 56 members, a valuable indicator for local traffic efficiency and redundancy.

On AI and emerging tech, the country adopted the Estrategia Nacional de Inteligencia Artificial (ENIA) and its action plan via Decree 498-23, positioning implementation through the digital/innovation governance apparatus. The coordination model was strengthened by Decree 338-23, which creates the Gabinete de Innovación y Desarrollo Digital and assigns OGTIC a central executive role. For cloud and shared digital infrastructure in government, OGTIC offers OGTICLOUD as a state platform service, and interoperability is guided by updated standards such as NORTIC A4.

Dominican Republic’s permanent mission to the UN:

The Permanent Mission of the Dominican Republic to the UN Office and other international organisations in Geneva represents the country across Geneva-based multilateral bodies. The UN Geneva directory lists the mission at Rue de Lausanne 63, 1202 Geneva, and shows a team covering portfolios such as human rights, health, labour, disarmament, and telecommunications, reflecting the breadth of Geneva’s agenda.

Official UN website: https://www.ungeneva.org/en/blue-book/missions/member-states/dominican-republic

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Iran

Digital Snapshot – Key Policies and Laws

The most important feature of Iran’s digital governance is the National Information Network (NIN), backed by the Supreme Council of Cyberspace and designed to make the country’s digital infrastructure more self-reliant, domestically routed, and easier to manage under crisis conditions. The NIN’s macro-plan ties together connectivity, local hosting, domestic services, and state oversight.

In digital policy and regulation, Iran has adopted a broad set of measures rather than relying on a single master law. Key pillars include the Electronic Commerce Law, the Computer Crimes Law, the Strategic Cyberspace Document, the 2024 privacy and personal-data guideline, and platform and traffic rules linked to messaging services, hosting, and circumvention tools. The overall direction is toward tighter identity-linked governance, greater domestic data and traffic control, and stronger administrative regulation of platforms and online services, while a comprehensive data-protection law remains absent.

Iran is also advancing digital development across broadband, smart government, AI, and the digital economy. Official reporting ties the current Seventh Development Plan to fuller NIN deployment and growth in the digital economy, while the 2024 national AI document created a formal National AI Strategy and new national AI institutions. The country has also expanded fibre and 5G rollouts and continues to invest in domestic cloud, data centre, and interconnection infrastructure.

Iran’s permanent mission to the UN:

Iran’s Permanent Mission in Geneva represents the country at the UN Office at Geneva and other international organisations based there, including bodies working on human rights, disarmament, health, humanitarian affairs, labour, trade, and migration. The mission is listed by the UN Office at Geneva at Chemin du Petit-Saconnex 28, 1209 Geneva, and its official site publishes statements, notes verbales, and documents related to Iran’s positions in multilateral diplomacy.

Official UNOG website: https://www.ungeneva.org/en/blue-book/missions/member-states/iran-islamic-republic

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Cameroon

Digital snapshot – key policies and laws

In the UN’s 2024 E-Government Development Index, Cameroon ranked 155th of 193 countries, with an EGDI score of 0.4294. Its e-participation rank was 105th, which is stronger than its overall e-government standing.

From data drift to data rules

An important development in Cameroon’s approach to digital governance was Law No. 2024/017 to personal data protection, adopted in December 2024. It is the first dedicated personal data protection law, replacing a scattered mix of telecom, cybercrime, and e-commerce rules with a single national framework. The law establishes common ground for the collection, use, security, and transfer of personal data, while providing for an independent data protection authority. It affects areas such as public databases, digital ID, fintech, e-commerce, health systems, and future AI uses.

The National Development Strategy to 2030 places structural transformation, technology uptake, and digital modernisation within the broader development agenda. At the strategic level, Cameroon’s older Digital Cameroon 2020 agenda and the World Bank-backed PATNUC programme combine regulatory reform, digital skills, and service delivery under a single digital-transformation umbrella.

The country has dedicated laws on cybersecurity and cybercrime (2010), electronic communications and e-commerce (2010). It also has a National Digital Health Strategic Plan 2026–2030, following the earlier 2020–2024 phase, with milestones including a national digital health architecture and nationwide deployment of tools such as DHIS2 (District Health Information Software 2) and universal health coverage management applications.

On AI and emerging technologies, MINPOSTEL held national consultations on AI in June 2024 to determine which government policies were needed to strengthen Cameroon’s domestic ownership, capacity, and governance of AI, bringing together public institutions, private actors, civil society, academia, and international organisations. On the other hand, Cameroon’s cloud and innovation landscape lacks a standalone cloud policy, meaning that cloud governance is being shaped indirectly through infrastructure development, data-sovereignty priorities, and efforts to host strategic digital services on domestic or locally controlled data-centre infrastructure, including facilities such as ST Digital’s data centre in Douala.

Regarding Cameroon’s digital infrastructure, CAMTEL’s fixed network spans all 10 regions, and its carrier arm markets international connectivity through South Atlantic 3/West Africa Submarine Cable/South Africa Far East (SAT-3/WASC/SAFE), the West Africa Cable System (WACS), the Nigeria–Cameroon Submarine Cable System (NCSCS), the South Atlantic Inter Link (SAIL), and Ceiba-2.  The country also has 3 active internet exchange points with 17 members as of April 2026, which help keep more domestic traffic local and improve resilience.

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Cameroon’s Permanent Mission to the UN in Geneva:

Cameroon’s Permanent Mission in Geneva represents the country at the UN Office at Geneva and other international organisations based there, including bodies working on human rights, trade, health, labour, migration, and humanitarian affairs. According to the UN Geneva directory, the mission is located on Avenue de France 23 and is headed by Ambassador Salomon Eheth.

Official UNOG website: https://www.ungeneva.org/en/blue-book/missions/member-states/cameroon

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Iceland

Digital snapshot – key policies and laws

Iceland’s most distinctive digital governance issue is the geographical resilience of its international connectivity. As an island state, it relies heavily on submarine cables for global data traffic; the state-owned operator Farice runs FARICE-1, DANICE and ÍRIS, and in 2026 announced Auður Auður, a new Iceland–Scotland cable intended to strengthen international connectivity.

Iceland is also a highly advanced digital-government state. The Digital Iceland programme and Ísland.is provide common public-service infrastructure, while eID use is widespread: by the end of 2022, more than 95% of people aged 13 and older with an Icelandic social security number had an eID. From 2025, all public institutions at the state and local level are expected to use the digital inbox for communications, making the national portal a core administrative channel rather than only a service website.

The North Star of internet freedom

Iceland is one of the world’s strongest environments for internet freedom, combining near-universal connectivity with robust protections for expression and privacy. Its high ranking reflects a broader democratic culture in which users can access diverse information and participate online with few state-imposed barriers. Yet this openness increasingly depends on resilience: recent cyberattacks against government and media websites show that digital rights are not protected by law alone, but also by secure infrastructure.

Iceland’s policy framework is closely aligned with the EU digital regulation through the EEA (European Economic Area). Its current instruments include the Digital Strategy for Public Services, the Cloud Policy of the Icelandic Public Sector, the Icelandic National Cybersecurity Strategy 2022–2037, the Data Security Classification framework, Act No. 90/2018 on data protection and GDPR implementation, and Act No. 30/2002 on electronic commerce and other electronic services.

Iceland’s 2021 AI policy emphasises an ethical basis for AI development and awareness of security challenges, while the AI Action Plan 2025–2027 aims to create a clearer legal framework, protect fundamental rights and build public trust. The country’s AI agenda is also shaped by language policy. For a small-language society, Icelandic language technology is central to keeping public services, education, media and future AI tools accessible in Icelandic.

Regarding cloud and emerging technologies, the public-sector cloud policy promotes coordinated cloud use, security, better services and innovation through tools such as AI, automation and data analysis. Iceland’s renewable energy, cool climate and submarine links also support data-centre and high-performance computing activity, but these opportunities come with governance questions around energy allocation, vendor dependence, cybersecurity, data protection and inclusion.

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Iceland’s Permanent Mission to the UN in Geneva:

Iceland’s Permanent Mission in Geneva opened on 1 March 1970, linked to Iceland’s accession to EFTA. It represents Iceland in Geneva-based multilateral settings, including the UN Office and agencies, WTO, EFTA, and other international organisations. Since 2018, it has also served as Iceland’s Embassy to Switzerland and Liechtenstein, with the Holy See added in 2022. The current government listing identifies it as the Permanent Mission of Iceland to the International Organisations in Geneva, with Ambassador Einar Gunnarsson listed as head of mission.

Official UNOG website: https://www.ungeneva.org/en/blue-book/missions/member-states/iceland

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Djibouti

Digital snapshot – key policies and laws

One law to wire the stack

In 2025, Djibouti adopted a wide-ranging Digital Code, approved by the National Assembly on 30 June and promulgated on 6 July, according to the country’s Official Journal. As East Africa’s first comprehensive Digital Code, the text brings nearly 800 articles into a single framework. Its scope is personal data protection, electronic communications, cryptology, e-commerce, consumer rights, cybersecurity and cybercrime, and innovative digital services. Legal analysis by Jones Day highlights its practical aim: modernising telecom regulation, enabling electronic signatures and online contracts, strengthening personal-data safeguards, and creating a cybersecurity body.

The country’s digital policy is organised around the Digital Transformation Strategy, led by the Ministry responsible for the digital economy and innovation and aligned with Vision Djibouti 2035. The strategy is built around digital administration, the digital economy, future sectors and jobs, and citizen digital culture, with legal reform, cyber sovereignty, skills and infrastructure as cross-cutting enablers. A World Bank digital economy diagnostic notes that Djibouti has made progress in digital infrastructure, but still faces affordability, quality, access and skills constraints.

Regarding infrastructure, Djibouti is one of the most strategically connected countries in the Horn of Africa, with three cable landing stations, including RAS DIKA, which has been operational since August 2023, according to Submarine Networks. The cable position RAS DIKA (CLS – Cable Landing Station) is reinforced by the Djibouti Data Centre / Wingu Africa, a carrier-neutral facility linked to regional connectivity and cloud services, whose traffic reportedly quadrupled after the Djibouti Internet Exchange joined the AMS-IX/Wingu partnership.

Djibouti already had a 2014 cybersecurity and cybercrime law, but the newer Digital Code and Law No. 195/AN/25/9ème L created a dedicated National Cybersecurity Authority, with legal personality and administrative and financial autonomy, as confirmed by the Official Journal. The new ANC website presents the authority as responsible for protecting national digital sovereignty, critical infrastructure and cybersecurity awareness.

Djibouti’s data protection and e-commerce frameworks are now primarily set out in the Digital Code. The Code creates a national personal data protection commission, sets rules for controllers and processors, regulates sensitive data and cross-border transfers, and supports electronic signatures, online contracts and digital consumer protection through its full legal text. The country also adopted a Startup Act to support innovation, labelled startups and digital entrepreneurship, while digital payments and inclusion are linked to the National Financial Inclusion Strategy.

Djibouti has not yet published a standalone AI law, but it opened consultations in January 2026 to develop a National Artificial Intelligence Strategy, with UN support, focusing on skills, infrastructure, data governance, ethical AI and digital inclusion. The country’s cloud and emerging-tech potential rests less on a large domestic market than on submarine cables, data centres, internet exchange, cybersecurity rules and regional connectivity.

Djibouti’s Permanent Mission to the UN in Geneva:

The Permanent Mission of the Republic of Djibouti to the UN Office and other international organisations in Geneva represents Djibouti in Geneva-based multilateral diplomacy. It is headed by H.E. Ms Kadra Ahmed Hassan, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary and Permanent Representative. The Mission serves as Djibouti’s voice in Geneva, engaging with the UN and other international organisations on issues including climate change, trade, development, humanitarian affairs, and human rights.

Official UNOG website: https://www.ungeneva.org/en/blue-book/missions/member-states/djibouti

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