Overview - Digital economy and society
What information can I find here?
Mobile internet access, social media use, e-commerce, internet security, cloud services, digital skills and employment of ICT specialists give you just a small taste of the information and statistics you can find here. The statistics on 'Information and Communication Technologies' (ICT) in this section are available separately for households/people and businesses/enterprises.
Why are these statistics important?
ICT statistics can help to better understand how digital technologies are transforming our world. They track and monitor:
- the production of and access to digital technologies,
- the uptake and usage of digital technologies,
- the impact of digital technologies, notably in the economy and on the labour market.
Where do these statistics come from?
ICT indicators produced by Eurostat come from:
- Primary statistics, which are collected through two annual community surveys on ICT usage in households and by individuals as well as in enterprises,
- Secondary statistics on the ICT sector and digital skills, based on several Eurostat sources such as structural business statistics, national accounts, research and development and labour force survey.
What are today's challenges and what is the EU doing in this regard?
Digital technologies, and in particular the internet, are transforming our world and the European Commission wants to make the EU’s single market fit for the digital age – moving from national digital markets to a single one.
Up until now, EU citizens and businesses have often faced barriers when using online tools and services. These barriers mean that consumers have restricted access to some goods and services, businesses cannot reap all benefits from digitisation, and governments and citizens cannot fully benefit from this digital transformation. The Digital Single Market opens new opportunities, as it removes key differences between online and offline worlds, breaking down the barriers to cross-border online activity.
The Digital Single Market strategy was adopted on 6 May 2015 and is one of the European Commission’s 10 political priorities. It is made up of three policy pillars:
- Improving access to digital goods and services,
- An environment where digital networks and services can prosper,
- Digital as a driver for growth.
