As digitalisation and AI become strategically important, cross-country benchmarking of the digital
economy is no longer a purely academic exercise. It is increasingly becoming a tool in the global AI race, where rankings are closely watched, fiercely debated, and frequently challenged. This edition of SIDE introduces two major improvements. First, it embeds AI-related indicators into the CHIPS—Connect, Harness, Innovate, Protect, and Sustain—framework, thereby updating it for the AI era. Second, we expand the country coverage from 32 to 71 countries, accounting for 96 percent of global GDP, 86 percent of the world’s internet users, and 83 percent of the global population
