Greece's digital performance remains among the worst in the EU – As the data shows, the country is moving slowly towards convergence with the European Union on the Digital Agenda
The digital deficit of Greece continues to increase, with the country lagging behind most of the Digital Agenda 2020 targets (Digital Agenda 2020), although the EU shows – overall – achieving the goals it has set for the digital economy and society.
These figures illustrate this image, which were published by the committee for the Digital Agenda Scoreboard 2015, which also partially use the Digital Economy and Society Index (Digital Economy and Society Index-DESI), as well as for the progress of achieving the Digital Agenda.
All three assessments find that Greece's performance in key digital indicators falls short of the EU average, with the country ranked at the bottom of the rankings. Furthermore, Greece, as the data show, is moving slowly towards convergence with the EU on the Digital Agenda goals.
Lag
The Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI) assesses the national performance of countries based on six key factors: Connectivity, Human Capital, Internet Use, Integration of Digital Technology, Digital Public Services and Research and Development (R&D).
According to the analysis of Greece's data, although our country shows progress in certain areas, it is rated as the third least digitally developed country in the EU, ranking 26th among the 28 states – members of the EU.
Specifically, regarding Connectivity, Greece is (for 2015) in the 26th position in the EU, scoring 0.42, from the 28th in 2014. Although 99% of Greek households are covered by fixed broadband lines, access to Next Generation Access (Next-generation Access -NGA) networks, which guarantee speeds of at least 30 Mbps download, is only present in 34% of homes, far below the EU average of 68%.
As for Human Capital, Greece, with a score of 0.36, also ranks 26th among EU countries, a position it also held in 2014. As the Commission notes, Greece needs to strengthen its citizens' relationship with the Internet in order to achieve digital development at economic and social levels. According to the commentators of the text, Greece has one of the lowest Internet usage rates in the EU (59%), while 33% of the population has never used it (the EU average is 18%).
Also, only 45% of Greeks have at least a basic level of digital skills, while the country has the second lowest proportion of ICT specialists in its total workforce among all EU countries (1.4%). It also performs below the EU average in terms of STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) graduates, with 1.4% of Greeks aged 20-29 holding a degree in this category.
Internet Usage
In Internet Usage, an index that measures where users spend their time while browsing the Internet, Greece scores 0.37 and ranks 25th among EU countries for 2015, a position similar to that held in 2014. According to the data, Greece's performance, which keeps it low in the ranking, is related to low activity in online banking and online shopping. The percentages of Greeks who use electronic banking services (21%) or make online purchases (40%) are much lower than the EU average (57% and 63% respectively).
Digital technology in businesses
Regarding the Digital Technology Integration Index by businesses, it is the sector in which Greece has better performance – compared to the other parameters – given that it has been rated with 0.26 and is in 23rd place among EU countries . However, the country had managed to reach 20th place in 2014.
Overall, the percentage of businesses that use technologies such as electronic information exchange (40%) and social media (17%) is higher than the EU average (31% and 14% respectively). However, there are not many Greek businesses that use RFID (2,6%), electronic invoices (4,8% in 2014) or cloud computing services (4,7%). Very few SMEs in Greece make sales via the Internet (9,1%) and even fewer conduct online sales to other states – members of the EU (4,3%).
Digital public services
Digital Public Services are the sector where Greece has achieved the best position compared to the other parameters. With a score of 0.35, it is in 21st place out of 27 last year, however, the performance is lower than the EU average regarding most digital public services indicators.
Greece scores higher than the EU average in the percentage of internet users who have submitted completed forms to public administration (38%). However, only 17% of general practitioners in Greece exchange medical data electronically, compared to 36% in the EU. Furthermore, Greece needs to improve its performance in relation to e-prescribing, as only 18% of general practitioners transmit prescriptions electronically to pharmacists.
Source: sepe.gr
