- The Digital Economy and Society Index, published today by the European Commission, confirms the progress of digital evolution in Spain and places our country above the average of the European Union and ahead of countries such as Germany, France and Italy
- The COVID-19 pandemic highlights how connectivity and digital skills are essential for the economy and society
- The report highlights the response that Spain has given to the health emergency from a technological point of view
The European Commission today published the Index of Digital Economy and Society (DESI), which confirms Spain's advanced position on the path of its digital transformation.
Spain improves in most of the indicators in the five dimensions measured by the report: connectivity, human capital, internet use, integration of digital technology and digital public services. In the global index, Spain ranks 11th among the 28 member states of the European Union, ahead of countries such as Germany, France and Italy.
Leader in public services and connectivity
In the field of digital public services, Spain has advanced two positions compared to last year and becomes the second country in the European Union with the best digital public services, an area that measures levels of electronic administration, open data and digital services in the administration for citizens and companies.
In connectivity, Spain occupies fifth place in the ranking of 28 and improves in all indicators. The report highlights as a strength of our country the deployment of fiber optics to the home (FTTH) which is 80%, well above the European average (34%). In rural areas, coverage in Spain reaches 46% of households, compared to 21% in Europe.
Regarding the use of internet services, which includes activities such as making video calls, reading news on line or using social networks, Spain is in 11th place in the ranking, improving two positions compared to last year.
In the fourth area, the integration of digital technology, which analyzes the digital behavior of companies in areas such as communication and electronic commerce or the use of social networks, Spain ranks 13th in the ranking and is in line with the average of European Union countries.
The only dimension of the report where Spain is below the European average is in human capital. This area takes into account indicators of digital skills, graduates and specialists in Information Technology. However, Spain has improved a position compared to last year's ranking and is now 16th.
Methodology
The European Commission has been monitoring the digital evolution of the member states since 2014. The current report includes data prior to the COVID-19 crisis, and has slightly changed the methodology of the index to include new technologies, so it can changes in country scores in previous years.
On the other hand, the report highlights how the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of connectivity and digital skills for the economy and for society as a whole.
Likewise, it reviews some actions developed by governments in these areas, which in the case of Spain include the guarantee of the electronic communications service; the agreement with telecommunications operators to guarantee connectivity; the development of a self-diagnosis app for the disease; the study of population mobility and a centralized information system to coordinate the needs for personnel and equipment in hospitals.
