How Digital is the EU in 2015? Euractiv Infographic

Written by on November 23, 2015 in Features with 0 Comments

The European Commission has published new data analysing and ranking how digital EU member states are. The Digital Economy and Society Index 2015 measures digital performance and competitiveness across five dimensions:

  1. Broadband Connectivity (Availability, Quality, and Speed)
  2. Human Capital (Internet users, Basic digital skills, ICT specialists, and STEM graduates)
  3. Internet Use (Content, Communication, and Transactions)
  4. Technological Integration (Digitisation of businesses and Utilisation of e-commerce)
  5. Digital Public Services (eGovernment and eHealth)

PERFORMANCE BY EU COUNTRY

Top performers include Denmark, Sweden, the Netherlands and Finland which rank almost twice as high as the bottom performers Romania, Bulgaria, Greece, and Italy. Spain Hungary and the Czech Republic improved their ranking the most compared to the previous year, becoming more digital significantly faster than similarly ranked countries.

High Performing

  • Denmark: 65
  • Sweden: 63
  • Netherlands: 60

Fast Improving

  • Spain: +10%
  • Hungary: +10%
  • Czech Republic: +9%
  • EU Average: +6%

Low Performing

  • Greece: 31
  • Bulgaria: 29
  • Romania: 28

KEY FINDINGS – EU

A majority of Europeans regularly use the internet. 81 percent of households have internet access and 65 percent of individuals use the internet every day.

SMEs face e-commerce barriers in Europe. 15 percent of SMEs sell online compared with 35 percent of large enterprises. 7 percent of SMEs sell across borders compared with 21 percent of large enterprises.

Availability of digital public services varies greatly across Europe. In Estonia, Denmark, Croatia and Sweden over 87 percent of general practitioners use electronic networks to transfer prescriptions to pharmacists. In Belgium, Bulgaria, Poland, Slovakia, Portugal, Hungary, Slovenia, Lithuania, and Malta less than 5 percent of general practitioners transfer prescriptions digitally.

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About the Author: EurActiv, the European Media Network present in 12 EU capitals, publishes free EU news and facilitates EU policy debates for policy professionals in 12 languages. .

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