Singapore, agency
Singapore's national ICT-skills measurement and baseline
Singapore's Department of Statistics ICT-skills table reports 99.0% in the total row for residents aged 16–74 in 2025, while 55.2% could use a basic arithmetic formula in a spreadsheet; the government uses the series to track SDG 4.4.1 and its Digital Skills for Life framework.
99 % of residents aged 16-74, residents with an ict skill in the total row, 2025. 55.2 % of residents aged 16-74, basic spreadsheet arithmetic skill, 2025. Singapore Department of Statistics, annual ICT-skills dataset (IMDA source), retrieved 2026-08-31.
The move, and what it needed
Singapore pairs a recurring skills measurement with a public baseline framework, Digital Skills for Life, and targeted support such as Seniors Go Digital. The combination makes digital capability a population service obligation rather than a one-off computer course, while the task rows reveal where basic access still masks deeper gaps.
Preconditions
- A statistical agency and digital ministry able to repeat a common task taxonomy and publish the results
- Universal connectivity and trusted public services that give adults reasons to practise digital tasks in daily life
- Accessible coaching, devices and safety guidance for older and lower-income residents who are least likely to learn informally
Where it travelled: Digital-skills programmes travel when measurement, everyday use and targeted help reinforce one another; connectivity statistics alone can conceal a population that still cannot complete consequential tasks.
Limits: The table records task-specific self-reported or survey-derived skills for Singapore residents, not independently tested proficiency, workplace transfer or equal access. The age base changed from residents aged 15 and above in 2016–2020 to ages 16–74 from 2021, and a high total can hide weak performance on harder tasks such as spreadsheet work.
This record describes what Singapore delivered. It is linked to Adult digital skills because no comparable dataset measures that capability. It does not affect the score or confidence.
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