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Spain in the Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI)

13 Dec 2022. 17:46
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  • SME maturity
    High
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    1. Initiatives
    Scope to digitize
    1. Others

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Did you know that Spain is the most digitised large country in the EU according to DESI? In this post we tell you the latest news about the most recent analysis about digitisation in Spain. Are you going to miss it?

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With the aim of achieving the success of Europe's digital transformation by 2030, the European Commission has outlined an action plan with targets and pathways to be met by all member states in the coming years. The purpose of all this is to achieve a more sustainable, interconnected and prosperous digital future in which people and businesses are empowered.

This is why Spain has been carrying out a series of actions, plans and strategies to promote the digitisation of certain key aspects of the country's economy and development. It is precisely these types of actions that have made Spain consolidate its position as the most digitised large country in the EU. But what does this really mean, and how can we measure the degree of digitisation of a country? We tell you about it below!

 

What is DESI and what is it for?

The Digital Economy and Society Index, also known as DESI, is an annual report published by the European Commission that measures the progress of EU member countries towards digitisation through four key indicators: connectivity, human capital, digital technology integration and digital public services. 

This report has been carried out since 2014 and includes a profile for each member state that helps to track the evolution of each one and to detect those areas that require priority action. In addition to all this, the DESI index ranks each EU country according to its level of digitisation and analyses its relative progress over the last five years taking into consideration its starting point.

 

Spain's overall digitization status according to DESI

Spain in the Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI)

In the report published this year, Spain ranks 7th out of the 27 European Union Member States, climbing two places with respect to the results obtained in 2021. These results place us ahead of Estonia, Germany, France, Austria, Italy, Portugal and 14 other member states.

The report highlights the improvement in the five indicators mentioned above, in which particular progress can be seen in terms of the integration of digital technology (11th place, moving up five places compared to 2021), digital public services (5th place, two places higher than in 2021) and human capital (10th place compared to 12th place in 2021). In addition, Spain remains one of the leading EU countries in terms of connectivity, ranking #3 for the second year in a row.

 

Leaders in connectivity

As mentioned above, Spain ranks #3 in this category and continues to make progress in terms of digital connectivity. Especially in the deployment of very high capacity networks and fixed networks. Reflecting this, the DESI index refers to progress in closing the digital divide between urban and rural areas by placing value on the deployment of 5G technology within the framework of the Recovery Plan. 

 

Driving digital technology integration

The integration of digital technologies is one of Spain's main improvements in the DESI index, climbing five places above the position obtained in 2021 to now obtain number 11. This section highlights the percentage of SMEs that have a basic level of digital intensity and use social networks, online sales media and electronic information exchange systems.

However, it shows the improvements that remain to be made in terms of the implementation of advanced technologies such as the cloud or big data due to a lack of qualified profiles. For this reason, the report highlights the implementation of initiatives such as the SME Digitalisation Plan 2021-2025 and the success of programs aimed at the digitisation of the business fabric, such as the Digital Kit Program.

 

Spain pioneer in digital public services

When talking about digital public services, Spain has traditionally occupied a leading position at the European level. This year we have reached the number 5 position, highlighting the development of services to respond to the needs of citizens in areas such as health, digital identification, cybersecurity, mobile applications and the integration of Artificial Intelligence in the sector.

 

Working on human capital

As for the data analysed with respect to human capital, there is still work to be done. Spain has obtained relatively good results in basic digital skills compared to the EU average, ranking 10th. However, the data certify the need to continue working on digital skills that allow the growth and improvement of the productivity of our country through specialists and graduates in ICT.

 

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