Enlargement countries - information and communication technology statistics

Data from May 2024.

Planned article update: June 2025.

Highlights

Between 2013 and 2023, the share of households with access to the internet at home almost doubled in Türkiye, from 49.1 % to 95.5 %, the strongest growth among the candidate countries and potential candidate in the period and a higher level in 2023 than in the EU.

Among the candidate countries and potential candidate, Montenegro had the highest share of the population that used the internet daily in 2023 (86.4 %). This was also higher than in the EU (85.9 %).

In 2022, the highest share of GDP spent on research and development among the candidate countries and potential candidate was observed in Türkiye, with 1.32 %. In comparison, the EU average was 2.24 % in 2022.

This article is part of an online publication and provides information on a range of information and communication technology statistics for the candidate countries and potential candidate and compares this with the corresponding data for the European Union (EU).

The new candidate countries, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine, are usually included in the set of articles covering the candidate countries and potential candidate. However, for these articles only data which are submitted to and validated by Eurostat's subject matter units following the same process as data from Member States, are used. For Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine, data for information and communication technologies are not yet transmitted in this way and are therefore not available yet. However, data on these countries are presented in the Statistics Explained articles for ENP-East countries, which are based on data supplied by and under the responsibility of the national statistical authorities of each country on a voluntary basis.

The article provides data on some fast-moving aspects of the economy, presenting information on households' access to the internet, the frequency of internet use, expenditure on research and development and sources of funds for research and development.

Full article

Access to the internet

Figure 1 presents the percentage of households with access to the internet at home from 2013 to 2023.

Figure 1: Households with access to the internet at home, 2013-2023
(%)
Source: Eurostat (isoc_ci_in_h)

Between 2013 and 2023, the share of households with access to the internet at home increased in each of the candidate countries and potential candidate, as well as in the EU. Among the four candidate countries for which data were available for 2023, only Türkiye (95.5 %) reported a higher share of households with access to the internet at home than the EU (93.1 %). However, the latest available data for Albania (98.4 %; 2022 data) and Kosovo* ^[1] (96.4 %; 2020 data) also lay above the EU in the corresponding reference years. The share of households with internet access at home increased each year in the period 2013-2023 in all the candidate countries and the EU. The only exceptions were Kosovo in 2019 (no change from the previous year) and North Macedonia in 2017 (- 0.7 percentage points (pp)) and 2020 (- 2.2 pp).

In Albania, the share of households with home access to the internet rose from 83.6 % in 2018 to 98.4 % in 2022, an increase by 14.8 pp over this five-year period. The share increased each year during this period, with a particularly high increase from 2021 to 2022 (+7.5 pp). Data for Albania are not available for the years 2013-2017 and 2023.

Data for Kosovo are available from 2017, when the share of households with access to the internet at home was 88.8 %. This was higher than the corresponding share in the EU that same year (85.8 %). The share continued to grow compared to the EU each year until 2020, the most recent year for which data are available for Kosovo. The share in 2020, at 96.4 %, was the second highest observed among the candidate countries and potential candidate in the period 2013-2023.

Over the period 2013-2023, the strongest growth in internet access at home was observed in Türkiye, with particularly strong growth in 2014 (+11.2 pp), 2015 (+9.3 pp) and 2016 (+6.8 pp). Türkiye is the only country among the candidate countries and potential candidate for which data are available for the whole period. The share in Türkiye in 2013, 49.1 %, was the lowest observed in any of the candidate countries and potential candidate throughout the period. By 2023, the share had almost doubled, reaching 95.5 %, representing an increase by 46.5 pp. The share of households with internet access at home was even higher than in the EU in 2022 and 2023.

In Serbia, the share of households with internet access rose from 63.8 % in 2015 to 85.4 % in 2023, an increase by 21.6 pp over this period. However, data for Serbia are not available for 2013, 2014 and 2016.

Despite the decreases observed in 2017 and 2020, the share of households in North Macedonia with internet access at home increased by 18.7 pp between 2013 and 2021. In 2013, 65.1 % of households could access the internet at home, with the share rising to 83.7 % in 2021. Data are not available for North Macedonia for 2022 and 2023.

Overall, the share of households with internet access in Bosnia and Herzegovina increased from 69.2 % in 2018 to 81.6 % in 2023, representing a growth by 12.4 pp between these years. Data are not available for 2013-2017 and for 2022.

In 2017, 70.6 % of the households in Montenegro had access to the internet at home. This share increased by 10.7 pp to 81.3 % by 2023; data are not available before 2017.

In the EU the share of households with access to internet at home rose from 77.2 % in 2013 to 93.1 % in 2023, corresponding to an increase by 15.9 pp over this period. The share in the EU was higher than in any of the candidate countries and potential candidate between 2013 and 2016. However, data are only available for North Macedonia, Serbia (only 2015) and Türkiye for these years.

Frequency of internet use

Figure 2 presents data on how often persons in the candidate countries and potential candidate and in the EU used the internet in 2013 and 2023, respectively. The frequency of internet use is presented according to two categories; persons that used the internet at least once a week but not daily (weekly use), and those who used the internet daily.

Figure 1: Frequency of internet use, 2013 and 2023
(%)
Source: Eurostat (isoc_ci_ifp_fu)

Across the candidate countries and potential candidate for which data are available for both years, as well as in the EU, the share of persons using the internet daily increased from 2013 to 2023. In all cases, the share of persons using the internet daily exceeded 80 % in 2023, with the share in Montenegro (86.4 %) even exceeding that in the EU (85.9 %). In contrast, the share of persons using the internet weekly (but not as frequently as daily) fell from 2013 to 2023. North Macedonia was the only candidate country where the share of persons that used the internet weekly but not daily exceeded 3 % in 2023, with a share of 5.0 %. In the EU, this share was 4.4 %. Data are not available for Kosovo.

The share of persons that used the internet daily was 80.4 % in Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2023, the lowest among the candidate countries and potential candidate. The share of persons that used the internet weekly, but not as frequently as daily, was 2.1 %. However, 2013 data are not available for Bosnia and Herzegovina.

In Montenegro, 45.9 % of the population was using the internet daily in 2012 (2013 data are not available). By 2023, this share had grown to 86.4 % by 2023, an increase by 40.5 pp. This was the highest share among the candidate countries and potential candidate in 2023, and higher than the corresponding share in the EU. The share of persons using the internet weekly fell from 9.1 % to 1.9 % over the same period.

North Macedonia recorded an increase in the share of daily internet users from 52.3 % in 2013 to 80.5 % in 2021 (2023 and 2022 data not available). This was the second lowest share among the candidate countries and potential candidate in 2023, only 0.1 pp higher than the corresponding share in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

In Albania, 83.0 % of the population were daily users of the internet in 2023, the second highest share observed in the candidate countries and potential candidate. In contrast, only a marginal share of 0.1 % used the internet weekly, by far the lowest share. Data for 2013 are not available for Albania.

In Serbia, 82.8 % of the population used the internet daily 2023, an increase of 28.2 pp from the 54.6 % recorded in 2015, the first year for which data are available for Serbia. The share that used the internet weekly decreased from 7.5 % to 2.4 % in the same period.

The largest increase in the share of daily internet users was recorded in Türkiye, growing by 52.6 pp from 29.7 % in 2013 to 82.3 % in 2023, while the corresponding share of weekly users fell from 9.8 % to 2.9 %.

The share of daily internet users in the EU was 59.5 % in 2013, higher than in any of the candidate countries and potential candidate for which data are available for that year. By 2023, this share had risen to 85.9 %, slightly lower than the corresponding share in Montenegro. The share of weekly internet users fell from 10.2 % in 2013 to 4.4 % in 2023.

Research and development expenditure

Research and Development (R & D) expenditure as a percentage of GDP, shown in Figure 3, provides a measure of ‘R & D intensity’ that can be compared over time and between economies. Countries that have higher economic output per person will normally have a higher degree of R & D intensity than the ones with lower economic output. In line with this, in 2022 (or the most recent year available) the R & D intensity in the EU was between 1.7 times (Türkiye) and 12 times (Bosnia and Herzegovina; 2021 data) the R & D intensity of the candidate countries and potential candidate for which data are available, respectively. Data are not available for Albania and Kosovo.

In 2022, R & D expenditure in Türkiye accounted for 1.32 % of the country’s GDP, representing an increase from 0.83 % a decade earlier. The R & D intensity of Türkiye was the highest among the candidate countries and potential candidate for which data are available. The second highest intensity was observed in Serbia, at 0.97 % of GDP. In 2012, the R & D intensity in Serbia had stood at 0.85 %, close to the same level as in Türkiye. However, the R & D intensity in Serbia fluctuated more than that in Türkiye over this period.

Data are only available for the period 2013-2018 for Montenegro. The R & D intensity was 0.37 % in 2013 and varied only slightly around this level until 2017, far below the levels in the EU and in Türkiye and Serbia. In 2018, the most recent data available, the intensity increased to 0.50 %. For North Macedonia, data are only available from 2015 to 2022, although data for 2021 are missing. From a stable level of 0.44 % of GDP in 2015 to 2016, the R & D intensity decreased to 0.35 % in 2017 and recovered only slightly in the subsequent years to reach 0.38 % of GDP in 2022.

The lowest R & D intensity among the candidate countries and potential candidate was observed in Bosnia and Herzegovina. R & D expenditure accounted for only 0.27 % of GDP in 2012. However, data are not available for the period 2015 to 2018. However, by 2019 the R & D intensity had decreased to 0.19 % of GDP, and fluctuated only marginally in 2020 and 2019, the last year for which data are available.

The estimated R & D intensity in the EU remained at a significantly higher level over the period 2012-2022, growing continuously from 2.08 % in 2012 to 2.30 % in 2020, before falling slightly to 2.24 by 2022.

Figure 3: Gross domestic expenditure on research and development, 2012-2022
(% of GDP)
Source: Eurostat (rd_e_gerdtot)

Gross domestic expenditure on R & D, often abbreviated 'GERD', can be funded by business enterprises, higher education institutions, the government sector or private non-profit organisations, or be funded from abroad (e.g. by mother companies or R &D entities of international enterprise groups situated in the rest of the world). R & D expenditure by source of funds describes the structure of R & D funding according to where these funds come from.

Data on R & D expenditure by source of funds are presented for the years 2012 and 2022 in Figure 4. The data show significant differences with respect to the sources and structures of R & D funding between the candidate countries, potential candidate, and the EU. Data for Albania and Kosovo are not available.

In Bosnia and Herzegovina, around half (48.7 %) of the funds for R & D was provided from abroad in 2012. By 2021 (2022 data are not available), the structure of R & D funding had changed significantly, with the share of funds from abroad falling to 8.8 % of the total. Instead, the share of R & D funding from the government sector had increased from 26.8 % in 2012 to 43.1 % in 2021, with the share from the business enterprise sector also making up a large share, increasing from 17.1 % to 38.7 %.

In Montenegro, data for recent years are not available. In 2013 (data for 2012 are not available), the business sector was the source of most R & D funds, accounting for almost half (46.6 %) of total R & D funding. Among the other sectors, government funding made up 28.5 % of the total, R & D funding from abroad represented 20.7 % and higher education 4.2 %.

In 2022, the government sector accounted for 46.0 % of total R & D funding in North Macedonia, with the business enterprise sector contributing 25.9 %, higher education 23.8 % and foreign sources 4.2 %. No data are available for 2012.

In Serbia, the government sector and the higher education sector were the main sources of funds for R & D, together accounting for more than 80 % of the total in both 2012 and 2022. Whereas the share of funding from the government decreased from 51.3 % in 2012 to 39.3 % in 2022, the share for higher education increased from 33.7 % to 41.9 %. The share of funding from abroad grew from 9.2 % in 2012 to 17.6 % in 2022, while funding from the business enterprise sector fell from 5.8 % in 2012 to just 1.3 %. As in the other candidate countries and potential candidate for which data are available, the private non-profit sector accounted for only a marginal share of R & D funding in 2022.

Türkiye was the candidate country where the structure of R & D funding was most similar to the structure in the EU. In Türkiye, the main source of funds to R & D was the business enterprise sector, accounting for close to half of total funding in both 2012 and 2022 (46.8 % and 50.2 %, respectively). The other main sources were the government sector, which accounted for 28.2 % in 2012, rising to 32.8 % in 2022, and the higher education sector (21.1 % in 2012, decreasing to 15.7 % in 2022). Funding from the private non-profit sector was the highest observed among the candidate countries and potential candidate in 2012, with a share of 3.4 %, but fell to an insignificant level also in Türkiye in 2022 (0.02 %). R & D funding from abroad made up only a marginal share of the total, representing 0.6 % in 2012 and 1.3 % in 2022.

In the EU, the analysis of the structure of R & D expenditure shows that the business enterprise sector remained the main source for funding, with the share of total R & D funding increasing from 56.5 % in 2012 to 57.7 % in 2021 (2022 data are not available). The government sector provided the second largest share of funding, decreasing slightly from 33.3 % in 2012 to 30.3 % in 2021. The contribution from abroad, i.e. funding from outside the EU, was 8.3 % in 2012, raising to 9.7 % in 2021. In contrast to the available data from the candidate countries and potential candidate, the higher education sector accounted for only a minor share of R & D funding in the EU, accounting for 0.8 % in 2012 and 1.2 % in 2021. The share of funding provided by the private non-profit sector was slightly higher in the EU, but still accounted for only 1.1 % in 2012 and 1.2 % in 2021.

Figure 4: Gross domestic expenditure on research and development by source of funds, 2012 and 2022
(%)
Source: Eurostat (rd_e_gerdfund)

Source data for tables and graphs

Candidate countries and potential candidate — information and communication technology: tables and figures

Data sources

The candidate countries and potential candidate provide ICT data directly to Eurostat's unit responsible for innovation and digitalisation; these data have been used in this article. The same process applies to Eurostat's regular collection of ICT data from EU Member States and EFTA countries. These statistics are also available free-of-charge on Eurostat's website.

While basic principles and institutional frameworks for producing statistics are already in place, the candidate countries and potential candidate are expected to increase the volume and quality of their data progressively, and to transmit these data to Eurostat in the context of the EU enlargement process. EU standards in the field of statistics require the existence of a statistical infrastructure based on principles such as professional independence, impartiality, relevance, confidentiality of individual data and easy access to official statistics; they cover methodology, classifications and standards for production.

Eurostat has the responsibility to ensure that statistical production of the candidate countries and potential candidate complies with the EU acquis in the field of statistics. To do so, Eurostat supports the national statistical offices and other producers of official statistics through a range of initiatives, such as pilot surveys, training courses, traineeships, study visits, workshops and seminars, and participation in meetings within the European Statistical System (ESS). The ultimate goal is the provision of harmonised, high-quality data that conforms to European and international standards.

Eurostat's survey on the use of ICT in households and by individuals is an annual survey used to benchmark ICT-driven developments. Eurostat's survey on ICT usage and e-commerce in enterprises is also an annual survey and generally covers enterprises with at least 10 employees; note that the activity coverage excludes financial and insurance activities (NACE Rev. 2 Section K). These surveys follow developments for a set of core variables over time and also provide greater depth for specific subjects (through ad-hoc additional survey modules). While the surveys initially concentrated on access and connectivity issues, their scope has subsequently been extended to cover a range of subjects (for example, e-government, social media or e-commerce). The candidate countries and potential candidate carry out ICT surveys according to the same specifications as those used by EU Member States.

Context

Information and communication technologies (ICTs) affect people's everyday lives in many ways, both at work and in the home, for example, through communications with friends and colleagues or buying and ordering goods online. The development and expansion of the information society is regarded as critical to improve the competitiveness of the EU, while EU policymakers also seek to regulate specific areas, such as e-commerce or the protection of an individual's privacy when using such technologies.

In May 2015, the European Commission adopted a digital single market strategy (COM(2015) 192 final) as one of its top 10 political priorities for the period 2015-2019. The digital single market strategy had 16 initiatives that covered three broad pillars:

promoting better online access to goods and services across Europe;
designing an optimal environment for digital networks and services to develop;
ensuring that the European economy and industry takes full advantage of the digital economy as a potential driver for growth.

In the European Commission's work programme for 2017 Delivering a Europe that protects, empowers and defends (COM(2016) 710), the European Commission proposed to advance swiftly on proposals that had already been put forward and to undertake a review of the progress made towards completing the digital single market. In May 2017, the European Commission published a mid-term review of its digital single market strategy (COM(2017) 228 final), which took stock of the situation, while outlining actions in relation to online platforms, the data economy and cybersecurity.

In 2019, the European Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen, described how she wanted the EU to seize the opportunities presented by the digital age. Indeed, A Europe fit for the digital age has been one of the Commission’s priorities for the period 2019-2024. Such a digital transformation is based on the premise that digital technologies and solutions should: create new opportunities for businesses; boost the development of trustworthy technology; foster an open and democratic society; enable a vibrant and sustainable economy; help fight climate change. With this in mind, in February 2020, the European Commission adopted an overarching presentation of the Commission's ideas and actions for Shaping Europe’s Digital Future, as well as specific proposals in relation to:

A European strategy for data (COM(2020) 66 final) which seeks to promote the EU as a leading role model for a society empowered by data to make better decisions — in business and the public sector; and
a White Paper on Artificial Intelligence — A European approach to excellence and trust (COM(2020) 65 final) which supports a regulatory and investment oriented approach with the twin objectives of promoting the uptake of artificial intelligence and addressing the risks associated with certain uses of this new technology.

In December 2022, European Parliament and Council Decision (EU) 2022/2481 established the Digital Decade Policy Programme 2030. This programme aims to encompass social, moral and economic impacts of digital technologies, to promote and drive the digital transformation toward a sustainable and inclusive path in order to reach a fair economy and investment-oriented approach with the twin objectives of promoting the uptake of artificial intelligence and addressing the risks associated with certain uses of this new technology.

Statisticians are well aware of the challenges posed by rapid technological change in areas related to the internet and other new applications of ICTs. As such, there has been a considerable degree of development in this area, with statistical tools being adapted to satisfy new demands for data. Indeed, statistics within this domain are reassessed on an annual basis, in order to meet user needs and reflect the rapid pace of technological change.

The Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI) is a composite index that summarises relevant indicators on Europe's digital performance and tracks the evolution of EU member states in digital competitiveness. DESI is managed by DG Communications Networks, Content and Technology and it contains 37 indicators, some of which are based on Eurostat's Community surveys on ICT usage.

Information concerning the current statistical legislation on ICT statistics can be found under 'Legislation' in the dedicated section on the 'Digital economy and society' on Eurostat's website.

Additional information on statistical cooperation with the enlargement countries is provided in the Statistics explained background article Enlargement policy and statistical cooperation.

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Notes

↑ * This designation is without prejudice to positions on status, and is in line with UNSCR 1244/1999 and the ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo Declaration of Independence.

[1] * This designation is without prejudice to positions on status, and is in line with UNSCR 1244/1999 and the ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo Declaration of Independence.

[1]