Analysis of the development of the digital economy in Europe

Abstract

Digitalisation has been actively introduced into the life of society and business in recent years. Currently, there are almost no professions that are not related to the use of information and communication technologies. Personnel are actively retrained to work in new conditions. Websites provide an opportunity of processing and submitting documents in electronic form, and electronic commerce is developing. Of course, the digital economy is more or less developed in various countries. Various international organizations calculate and publish special indices that characterize the level of its development. This allows researchers to compare countries with each other. The authors consider the methodology for calculating the Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI), which is used in the EU countries. Moreover, they give a description of the sources of information on which it is based. The article gives a detailed description of the components of the index, as well as the indicators that are included in each of the components. Countries were grouped according to the value of this indicator calculated in 2021. As a result of the study, the authors identifed countries that are leaders, as well as countries that lag behind in terms of both the index of the digital economy and society as a whole, and its components: human capital, communications, integration of digital technologies and digital public services. In lagging countries researchers have identifed problem areas. They noted that many countries currently have problems with 5G availability, as well as with its coverage. In addition, the bandwidth of at least 1 Gbit/s is developed at an insufcient level. The results of the study identify problem areas in the development of the digital economy of countries. It is recommended to pay close attention to them when developing an appropriate policy.