Poland remains in 22nd place in EC's Digital Economy Index 2016

With an overall score of 0.43, Poland ranks 22nd out of the 28 EU member states in this year's edition of the Digital Economy & Society Index (DESI) commissioned by the European Commission. The EU as a whole attained a score of 0.52 in 2016, up from 0.50 last year. According to the report, Poland progressed moderately in four out of five DESI dimensions. "Although many Poles opt for mobile broadband (94 out of 100), placing Poland in 5th place in the EU, only 57 percent of households have a fixed broadband internet connection (26th in the EU) and Poland ranks last in the fixed broadband coverage. With only 40 percent of individuals having basic digital skills, Poland ranks 24th in the EU," the report said. The top performing countries were Denmark (0.68), the Netherlands (0.673), Sweden (0.672) and Finland (0.669). Atthe other end of the scale, the bottom performing countries were Romania (0.35), Bulgaria (0.37), Greece (0.375) and Italy (0.4). The countries that have improved the most from 2015 to 2016 were Croatia (from 0.37 to 0.42), Portugal (from 0.49 to 0.53), and Romania (from 0.32 to 0.35). The Digital Economy and Society Index is a composite index that summarizes relevant indicators on Europe’s digital performance and tracks the evolution of EU member states in digital competitiveness (five principal dimensions: Connectivity, Human Capital, the Use of Internet, Integration of Digital Technology and Digital Public Services).