Over the past decade, we have seen a revolution in the provision of e-government services to citizens. While information communication
technologies (ICT) make it possible to develop and deploy e-government services, there are remarkable differences in the reasons
behind varying levels of e-government use in different countries. While developed countries, e.g., United States and many
European countries, have advanced ICT infrastructures, e-government services usage by citizens is still limited. Developing
countries are still struggling to develop and deploy basic infrastructure for ICT, which limits people’s ability to use e-government
services that have already been developed. This contrast presents a unique set of issues, which poses challenges to citizens
to efficiently and effectively use e-government services. This study examines several developed and developing countries from
six continents around the globe on the basis of their past and current e-government initiatives, discuss goals, and objectives
as well as benefits and challenges of e-government. The countries we examine include: United States and Canada (North America);
United Kingdom and Germany (Europe); India, and Pakistan (Asia); Australia and New Zealand (Australia); Kenya and Nigeria
(Africa); Argentina and Brazil (South America). We use published, archival, and current reports to examine the e-government
maturity in each of the countries. Understanding the trends and challenges in e-government will help policy makers, developers,
and service providers design and deliver better e-government services.