Building cyber resilience: Global insights into government preparedness
Written by Marit Lani, Head of the Governance and Engagement Competence Centre and NCSI lead & community manager
Over recent years, cybersecurity has become a core concern for governments worldwide. Governments are expected to prevent cyber threats, manage incidents, protect citizens’ data and cooperate internationally. Against this backdrop, the National Cyber Security Index (NCSI) provides a structured way to assess how well countries are prepared to address these challenges.
First piloted in 2016, the NCSI has evolved into a widely used global benchmark. Today, it covers 154 countries and is developed through the contributions of more than 100 data providers worldwide, together with a dedicated team of NCSI experts at the e-Governance Academy, who ensure methodological consistency, quality control and the continuous development of the index.
At its core, the NCSI functions as a global database of national cybersecurity capacities. It assesses countries based on 49 indicators, each supported by publicly available evidence. This enables policymakers, practitioners and researchers not only to compare countries but also to consult real-world examples of laws, institutions, cooperation frameworks and practices.
The strongest and weakest areas of national cybersecurity
In terms of specific capacities, countries perform best in the protection of personal data, with a global average score of 76.6% across all indicators. This reflects the widespread adoption of data protection laws and independent supervisory authorities.
Also scoring high are fight against cybercrime (64.3%), followed by education and professional development (59.1%), cybersecurity policy (57.3%), and cyber incident response (57.3%).
At the other end of the scale, cyber crisis management (31.82%), cybersecurity research and development (38.0%), and military cyber defence (38.1%) continue to be the least developed areas.
While many countries participate in international cyber crisis exercises, only a limited number have comprehensive crisis management plans or mechanisms to mobilise reserve support during major cyber incidents.
By showing where cybersecurity capacities exist – and where gaps remain – the index turns global data into actionable insights for strengthening government preparedness.
To further improve its output, the NCSI team looks forward to expanding the network of countries that contribute data, which will increase coverage and ensure the index remains up to date.
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