Hungary progress in digitisation average among EU member states

Digitisation in Hungary has developed on par with other member states, with the country ranking 23rd in the bloc, the European Union’s Digital Economy and Society Index 2018 (DESI), which was published on Friday, shows.

The report measured five indicators, such as connectivity, human capital, the use of internet services, integration of digital technology and digital public services.

Connectivity drove the country’s development, with fast and ultra-fast broadband being widely available in the country. The country performs below EU average regarding the use of digital public services and human capital, “since half of the population does not have basic digital skills, and there is a low number of … science, technology and mathematics graduates”, the report said.

Eighty four percent of Hungarian internet users use social networks, the second highest ratio in the EU, 85 percent read news as against the EU average of 72 percent, and 59 percent make video calls, 13 percentage points over the European Union average.

Nevertheless, the uptake of transactional services online remains low: only 49 percent use eBanking and e-commerce, as opposed to 61 percent and 68 percent respectively in the EU.

Denmark, Sweden, Finland and the Netherlands scored highest on the DESI index.

The whole of Europe has to improve its performance to boost its competitiveness, the report said, adding that creating a common digital market and investment into digital economy would be instrumental.

Source: MTI