Portugal, along with the other 26 EU member states, has been put to the test in new areas, with new work models, new digital channels, new training and retraining methods, and new security requirements. All areas where technology and the digital maturity of our society have taken a central role in responding to the crises we are going through.

According to the 2022 Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI), Portugal is still behind the European average, occupying 15th place among the 27 member states, having risen one position compared to 2021. The podium is occupied by Finland, Denmark, and the Netherlands.

On the positive side, the use of technologies for environmental sustainability stands out in 1st place, electronic sharing of information and the use of AI, both in 2nd place, and the adherence to broadband and fiber optic coverage, both in 3rd place. On the negative side, Portugal is the second to last country where the price of broadband is the highest, in the tail of Europe in percentage of ICT graduates (25th place), with one of the lowest uses of open data (23rd place). Basic software skills put us in 21st place, social networking use in business in 22nd, and e-Government users in 21st.

The DESI is a quantitative indicator, published annually since 2015 by the European Union, which aims to assess and compare the digital competitiveness of the 27 Member States, identifying national policies and priority intervention areas for sustained digital innovation. This analysis is structured in four fundamental dimensions – Human Capital, Connectivity, Digital Technology Integration, and Digital Public Services – which are detailed in 33 indicators, allowing the tracking of their evolution over time.

Data source: European Commission – Eurostat