Europe and digitalisation
Posted: Mon Jan 27, 2025 5:58 am
Erica Fellinger, professor of the Business Management Area , the Master in Integrated Logistics and International Trade and the Master in Food Safety Management at Bureau Veritas Training, has written a text on the digital change taking place in Europe.
Did you know that by 2020, 16 million more jobs are expected to be created that will require skills in information and communications technology? And that for every two jobs lost “in the real world,” the internet economy creates five?Have you ever heard that the number of people over 65 in the European Union will increase by more than 30% by 2060? And that it has been estimated that the use of ICT and telemedicine would improve the efficiency of healthcare by 20%?
Today, electronic prescriptions can prevent 15% of medication dosing errors, and telemonitoring can improve survival rates for heart disease patients by 15%, reduce hospital stays by 26% and save 10% on healthcare costs.
Measures are already being taken in various EU countries to boost growth by taking advantage of the sustainable economic and social benefits of the digital single market. In May 2010, the European bitcoin data Commission launched the “Digital Agenda for Europe” with the aim of advancing decision-making, designing strategies and helping citizens and businesses to make the most of digital technologies.
This initiative led to the creation of the “Digital Scoreboard”, an index on the digital economy and society known as “DESI”, which stands for “Digital Economy and Society Index”. It is made up of five indicators that disaggregate information on connectivity, human capital, internet use, integration of digital technology and digital public services. The latest information available on the “DESI” index was published in September of this year under the name “ Digital Scoreboard 2017: Strengthening the European Digital Economy and Society ”.
In broad terms, Denmark, Finland, Sweden and the Netherlands have the most advanced digital economies in the European Union, followed by Belgium, the United Kingdom and Ireland. Romania, Bulgaria, Greece and Italy have the lowest scores in the index.
On the other hand, Finland, Luxembourg, the United Kingdom and Sweden occupy the highest levels of the ranking in the human capital dimension; in contrast, Romania, Bulgaria, Greece and Cyprus are the countries that are at the lowest levels.
The report also shows that 79% of EU citizens go online weekly, while 71% go online daily and 63% of disadvantaged people go online weekly. Despite continued improvements, the elderly and people with low levels of education or low incomes remain at risk of digital exclusion; in fact, 14% of the EU population has never used the Internet.
When asked about the most common reasons for non-connectivity, respondents indicated the following factors: lack of need or interest, insufficient skills and cost-related barriers. Thus, in 2016, 37% of EU workers had an insufficient level of digital skills and 11% had no digital skills at all, as they did not use the Internet regularly.
Contrary to the data provided, employment of ICT specialists has grown by more than 2 million workers in the European Union in the last decade.
Even though governments are making progress in providing online services, reducing administrative burdens through the use of interconnected databases is still in its infancy. Estonia ranks first in digital public services, followed by Finland, the Netherlands and Denmark. At the bottom of the ranking are Romania, Hungary and Croatia.
Did you know that by 2020, 16 million more jobs are expected to be created that will require skills in information and communications technology? And that for every two jobs lost “in the real world,” the internet economy creates five?Have you ever heard that the number of people over 65 in the European Union will increase by more than 30% by 2060? And that it has been estimated that the use of ICT and telemedicine would improve the efficiency of healthcare by 20%?
Today, electronic prescriptions can prevent 15% of medication dosing errors, and telemonitoring can improve survival rates for heart disease patients by 15%, reduce hospital stays by 26% and save 10% on healthcare costs.
Measures are already being taken in various EU countries to boost growth by taking advantage of the sustainable economic and social benefits of the digital single market. In May 2010, the European bitcoin data Commission launched the “Digital Agenda for Europe” with the aim of advancing decision-making, designing strategies and helping citizens and businesses to make the most of digital technologies.
This initiative led to the creation of the “Digital Scoreboard”, an index on the digital economy and society known as “DESI”, which stands for “Digital Economy and Society Index”. It is made up of five indicators that disaggregate information on connectivity, human capital, internet use, integration of digital technology and digital public services. The latest information available on the “DESI” index was published in September of this year under the name “ Digital Scoreboard 2017: Strengthening the European Digital Economy and Society ”.
In broad terms, Denmark, Finland, Sweden and the Netherlands have the most advanced digital economies in the European Union, followed by Belgium, the United Kingdom and Ireland. Romania, Bulgaria, Greece and Italy have the lowest scores in the index.
On the other hand, Finland, Luxembourg, the United Kingdom and Sweden occupy the highest levels of the ranking in the human capital dimension; in contrast, Romania, Bulgaria, Greece and Cyprus are the countries that are at the lowest levels.
The report also shows that 79% of EU citizens go online weekly, while 71% go online daily and 63% of disadvantaged people go online weekly. Despite continued improvements, the elderly and people with low levels of education or low incomes remain at risk of digital exclusion; in fact, 14% of the EU population has never used the Internet.
When asked about the most common reasons for non-connectivity, respondents indicated the following factors: lack of need or interest, insufficient skills and cost-related barriers. Thus, in 2016, 37% of EU workers had an insufficient level of digital skills and 11% had no digital skills at all, as they did not use the Internet regularly.
Contrary to the data provided, employment of ICT specialists has grown by more than 2 million workers in the European Union in the last decade.
Even though governments are making progress in providing online services, reducing administrative burdens through the use of interconnected databases is still in its infancy. Estonia ranks first in digital public services, followed by Finland, the Netherlands and Denmark. At the bottom of the ranking are Romania, Hungary and Croatia.