EN    EN EN 
 
EN    EN  COMMISSION OF THE E UROPEAN COMMUNITIES 
Brussels, 4.8.2009 
SEC(2009) 1104 final 
COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT 
 
Accompanying document to the   
COMMUNICATION FROM THE CO MMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN 
PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL 
COMMITTEE AND THE COMMI TTEE OF THE REGIONS 
 
Europe's Digital Competitiveness Report  
 
Volume 2: i2010 — ICT Country Profiles  
 
{COM(2009) 390 final} 
{SEC(2009) 1060} {SEC(2009) 1103} 
 
ELECTRONIC VERSION ONLY
 
 
EN    EN  
Introduction ................................................................................................................... ............. 4 
Definitions and Sources ........................................................................................................ ..... 4 
1. Austria..................................................................................................................... ..... 8 
2. Belgium..................................................................................................................... . 10 
3. Bulgaria.................................................................................................................... .. 12 
4. Cyprus ...................................................................................................................... .. 14 
5. The Czech Republic ................................................................................................... 16 6. Denmark..................................................................................................................... 18 
7. Estonia..................................................................................................................... ... 20 
8. Finland ..................................................................................................................... .. 22 
9. France...................................................................................................................... ... 24 
10. Germany.................................................................................................................... . 26 
11. Greece ..................................................................................................................... ... 28 
12. Hungary.................................................................................................................... .. 30 
13. Ireland .................................................................................................................... .... 32 
14. Italy ...................................................................................................................... ...... 34 
15. Latvia ..................................................................................................................... .... 36 
16. Lithuania .................................................................................................................. .. 38 
17. Luxembourg ............................................................................................................... 40  
18. Malta ...................................................................................................................... .... 42 
19. The Netherlands ......................................................................................................... 44 20. Poland..................................................................................................................... .... 46 
21. Portugal ................................................................................................................... ... 48 
22. Romania .................................................................................................................... . 50 
23. Slovakia................................................................................................................... ... 52 
24. Slovenia................................................................................................................... ... 54 
25. Spain...................................................................................................................... ..... 56 
26. Sweden ..................................................................................................................... .. 58 
27. United Kingdom......................................................................................................... 60 
 
EN    EN 28. Iceland ........................................................................................................................ 62 
29. Norway ....................................................................................................................... 64 
30. Croatia ....................................................................................................................... 66 
 
EN    EN INTRODUCTION  
This annex presents country-level results for 52 benchmarking indicators for which up-to-date 
data is available. Profiles are provided fo r each Member State plus Norway, Iceland and 
Croatia.1 
The indicators were defined by the Commission in  co-operation with Member States and were 
set out in the i2010 Benchmarking Framework2 endorsed by the i2010 High Level Group in 
April 2006. The main sources of data are the Comm unity Surveys of Households and Individuals 
and of Enterprises undertaken by the Na tional Statistical Offices and Eurostat3. These data are 
complemented by other official statistics on electronic communications collected through the 
Communication Committee and by ad-hoc studies  undertaken by independent contractors 
notably for broadband coverage, speeds and online availability of public services. A full list of 
the indicators used, sources and notes  is given in the next section.  
Data reported in the country profiles come fr om statistical sources harmonised at EU level.4 
Some indicators, in particular for those relate d to eCommerce, eBusiness take up by enterprises 
and eGovernment take up by citizens  have to be interpreted with care because of slight changes 
in the definitions and/or change s in the structure of the questi onnaire that could have affected 
comparability over time. The eCommerce indicator fo r 2008, in particular, is not available for a 
number of Member States. 
 D EFINITIONS AND SOURCES  
Broadband  
Total DSL coverage (as % of total population) - Source:  study for the  European Commission, 
Broadband coverage in Europe (Preliminary data for December 2008)5, Idate. Estimations for the 
EU average include IS and NO. 
DSL coverage in rural areas (as % of total population) - Source:  study for the  European 
Commission, Broadband coverage in Europe (Preliminary data for December 2008), Idate. 
Estimations for the EU include IS and NO. 
Broadband penetration: number of total subscriptions to fixed broadband connections 
(households, enterprises, public sector) by platfo rm (DSL, all others) divided by the number of 
                                                 
1 Iceland and Norway are members of the European Economic Area and Croatia is a candidate country to the 
EU. They contribute to the funding of the Competit iveness and Innovation Progr amme and participate as 
such in the Eurostat surveys. Howe ver, they are not considered in th e country rankings of all indicators 
except for the two broadband coverage  indicators where Iceland and Norw ay are included. Because of the 
size of their population and of the advanced state of development of the market under consideration, 
however, the impact on the EU average can be considered negligible. 
2 i2010 Benchmarking Framework:  
http://ec.europa.eu/information_society/eeurope/i2010/docs/benchmarking/060220_i2010_benchmarking_f
ramework_nov_2006.doc  
3 The data used in this version of the paper were ex tracted from the Euro stat database on 05.06.2009. Almost 
all Member States contributed to both surveys but there remain some outstanding returns. 
4  See http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/ict 
5 "Broadband Coverage” refers to the coverage of DSL networks, the most widespread form of broadband 
access in Europe, and in particular to the percen tage of population depending on a Local Exchange 
equipped with a DSLAM. Thus, figures do not account for those people that reside too far from these switches to be able to purchase a DSL connection even if they wanted to do so . Hence, coverage figures 
may overestimate actual eligibility. 
 
EN    EN inhabitants. 3G subscriptions are not included in the total. Source: Communications Committee 
(COCOM) (1 January 2009). FR, NL, AT, EE,  LT: data as at 1 October 2008. NO at 1st January 
2009. For 2003 and 2005, data is at 31st December for all the countries except for NO (1st July). 
Note that COCOM data does not include mobile broadband connections. 
Speed - % of broadband subscriptions above 2 Mbps – Source:  study for the  European 
Commission, Broadband coverage in Europe (P reliminary data for December 2008), Idate. 
% of households with an Internet connection – households with at least one member aged 16-
74. Source: Eurostat survey on ICT use by households 2008  
% of households having a broadband connection – households with at le ast one member aged 
16-74. Source: Eurostat survey on ICT use by households and individuals 2008 
% of enterprises having a broadband connection -  10+ employees, excluding the financial 
sector. Source: Eurostat survey on ICT use by enterprises 2008 
% of individuals using a mobile phone via UMTS (3G) to access the Internet – individuals 
aged 16-74. Source: Eurostat survey on ICT use by households and individuals 2008 
% of individuals using a lapt op via wireless connection away from home/work to access the 
internet  – individuals aged 16-74. Source: Eurostat survey on ICT use by households and 
individuals 2008 
Internet usage  
% of population who are regular internet users (u sing the internet at least once a week in 
the last 3 months) – individuals aged 16-74. Source: Eurost at survey on ICT use by households 
and individuals 
% of population who are using the internet ev ery day or almost every day (in the last 3 
months)  – individuals aged 16-74.  Source: Eurostat survey on ICT use by households and 
individuals 
% of population who have never used the internet  – individuals aged 16-74. Source: Eurostat 
survey on ICT use by households and individuals  
% of population using the Internet for spec ific activities (in the last 3 months) - Activities:  
sending emails, looking for information a bout goods and services, reading online 
newspapers/magazines, ordering goods or services, over the Internet, for private use (in the last 
year), selling goods and services (e.g. via auc tions), internet banking, downloading computer or 
video games or their updates, downloading/listeni ng to/watching music and/or films, paying for 
online audiovisual contents, listening to the we b radio/watching web tv, uploading self-created 
content, seeking health informa tion on injury, disease or nutrition,  looking for a job or sending a 
job application, doing an online course, consultati on with the purpose of learning. – individuals 
aged 16-74. Source: Eurostat survey on ICT use by households and individuals  
 
EN    EN eGovernment indicators  
% of basic public services fully available online (for households and enterprises) -  A public 
service is considered fully online when the public ly accessible website offers the possibility to 
completely treat the public service via the webs ite, including decision and delivery. No other 
formal procedure is necessary for the applicant via "paperwork". Source: The User Challenge. 
Benchmarking the Supply of Online Public Services , European Commission. Data for September 
2007 
% of population using eGovernment services (in the last three months) – individuals aged 
16-74. Source: Eurostat survey on ICT use by households and individuals  
% of population using eGovernment services for sending filled form s (in the last three 
months) – individuals aged 16-74. Source: Eurostat survey on ICT use by households and 
individuals 
% of enterprises using eGovernment services (in the last year) – 10+ employees, excluding 
the financial sector. Source:  Eurostat survey on ICT use by enterprises. 
% of enterprises using eGovernment services for sending filled forms (in the last year) – 
10+ employees, excluding the financial sector. Source:  Eurostat survey on ICT use by 
enterprises. 
% of enterprises using eGovernme nt services to submit a proposal in a public electronic 
tender system (e-procurement)  - 10+ employees, excluding th e financial sector. Source:  
Eurostat survey on ICT use by enterprises.  
eCommerce  
eCommerce as % of total turnover of enterprises -  Turnover on the Internet or via other 
external computer mediated ne twork as % of the total turnove r of enterprises (in 2007). 10+ 
employees, excluding the financia l sector. Source: Eurostat survey on ICT use by enterprises 
% of enterprises receiving ord ers/purchasing on the Internet  - Non financial enterprises. % 
of enterprises receiving orders/purchasing on the Internet or via other external computer mediated network (in 2007). 10+ employees , excluding the financial sector. Source:  Eurostat 
survey on ICT use by enterprises 
eBusiness
 
For all the indicators in this section the source is: Eurostat survey on ICT use by enterprises 
% of enterprises using applications for integrating internal business processes–  % of 
enterprises sharing electronically information on sa les and/or purchases with the software used 
for any internal function (management of in ventory levels, account ing, production/service 
management, distribution management), in  January 2008. 10+ employees, excluding the 
financial sector.  
% of enterprises using applications for inte grating internal busi ness processes (large 
enterprises) – as above but for enterprises with 250+ employees.  
% of enterprises using applications for employees to access HR services  – % of enterprises 
using, in January 2008, dedicated applications for employees to access human resources services 
 
EN    EN (e.g. see open job positions, request  annual leave, view or download  payslips, or other services). 
10+ employees, excluding the financial s ector, excluding the financial sector. 
% of enterprises exchanging automatically business documents with customers/suppliers - 
% of enterprises sending/receiv ing automatically, in January 2008,  orders, e-invoices, product 
information (catalogues, price lists, etc), tr ansport documents. 10+ employees, excluding the 
financial sector.  
% of enterprises sending/receiving e-invoices  - % of enterprises, in January 2008, 
sending/receiving e-invoices in a digital form at which allows its automatic processing.10+ 
employees, excluding the financial sector. 
% of enterprises us ing analytical CRM - % of enterprises having used, in January 2008, any 
software application for making analysis of the information about client s for marketing purposes 
(this is commonly referred to as Customer Relationship Manage ment, e.g. to set prices, make 
sales promotion, choose distri bution channels, etc.).  
Indicators on the growth of ICT sector and R&D  
ICT sector share on total employment and value added – Source: Eurostat estimation based 
on SBS (structural busine ss statistics) and Nationa l Accounts statistics.  
Share of ICT R&D performed by the business sector as % of GDP and as % of total 
business expenditure in R&D. Source: IPTS (European Commissi on) – Prospective Insights on 
R&D in ICT Annual Report 2008. 
% of ICT exports/imports on total exports/imports : data for Imports and Exports of goods are 
from the COMEXT database; data for services are from Balance of Payments statistics. Share of all Exports and Imports is calculated comparing the previously mentioned data with data from 
National Accounts Exports and Imports. Source: Eurostat. 
% of persons employed with ICT user skills -  Based on the OECD de finition of ICT user 
(basic + advanced) skills. Source: Eurostat La bour Force Survey. The figure for 2008 refers to 
the first 3 quarters. 
% of persons employed with ICT specialist skills -  Based on the OECD definition of ICT 
specialist skills. Source: Eurostat Labour Force Su rvey. The figure for 2008 refers to the first 3 
quarters. 
ICT specialists: they have the ability to develop, operate  and maintain ICT systems. ICTs  
constitute the main part of their job – they develop and put in place the ICT tools for others.  
Advanced users : competent users of advanced, and often s ector-specific, software tools. ICTs are 
not the main job but a tool. 
Basic users : competent users of generic tools ( e.g. Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint) needed 
for the information society, eGovernment and work ing life. Here too, ICTs  are a tool, not the 
main job. 
 
EN 8   EN 1. AUSTRIA  
The information society at large - connectiv ity, ICT usage by households, enterprises and 
government - is more developed than on average in  the EU. Austria is a fr ontrunner in particular 
in the availability of eGovernment services, for which Austria has been leading developments in 
the EU consistently over the recent years. More recently particular emphasis has been given to 
the security of electronic transa ctions (eSecurity) through the deployment of the social security 
eCard which can be used for authenticati on in both public and private transactions.  
Broadband 
Fixed broadband access indicators do not feature si gnificant progress, but indications are that 
wireless mobile is developing at  a faster rate than in most  EU countries. Austria's fixed 
broadband penetration now stands at 21.4%, close to  the EU average, with households exhibiting 
higher rates of connectivity than enterprises do. For enterprise connectiv ity, Austria places near 
the bottom of the ranking. DSL coverage is at av erage levels, but progre ss is slow. Wireless 
mobile connectivity on th e other hand is developing fast bo th for 3G and wireless laptop access 
and Austria is one of the most advanced count ry in the take up of these technologies.  
Internet Usage 
In the EU, Austria ranks 9th in terms of both regular (at leas t once a week) and frequent (almost 
every day) internet usage. 66% of the population were regular internet users in 2008 (above the 
EU average), up from 49% in 2005; 48% were  frequent users, up from 32% in 2005. 
Nevertheless, a quarter of the population has never used the internet – somewhat better than the 
EU average of 33%. The picture in terms of use of advanced internet se rvices is more mixed. 
While Austrian citizens are more intensive users of some services, such as sending e-mails, looking for information on goods and services, onlin e shopping and seeking health information, 
they are less intensive users of others, such as watching web tv, seeki ng information with the 
purpose of learning, downloading video games or  watching/downloading films and music. 
Austria has reached full online availability of ba sic public services for citizens and enterprises. 
Take-up of eGovernment services by enterprises, at 80%, is re latively good and the country is 
one of the best performers in the area of e- procurement. Take-up by citizens, however, is 
significantly lower, though at 39% is higher than th e EU average (28%).  
ICTs in the Economy 
Austria's performance on the eCommerce dimensi on is in line with the general situation in 
Europe. For eBusiness, Austria exhibits some t op-ranking scores. This is primarily the case for 
in-house operations (integrating business processes, providing access to HR-services, using 
analytical CRM). For activities managing external relations (e.g. sending/receiving  e-invoices or 
electronic information sharing with customers/suppliers), th e figures are less impressive. 
Austria also has a higher than average business expenditure on ICT R&D,  ranking fourth, despite 
a less than average size of the IC T sector. It also has a rather good specialist eSkills base, but lags 
behind than expected in the percentage of persons employed with user skills.  
 
EN 9   EN Austria 
Description 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 EU27 ranking 
Broadband               
Total DSL coverage (as % of total population) 86.0 86.0 91.3 92.0 92.2 92.7 17 DSL coverage in rural areas (as % of total population)  67.0 79.0 80.6 81.8 76.6 16 Broadband penetration (as % of population) 10.1 14.3 17.4 19.0 21.4 22.9 12 Speed - % of broadband subscriptions above 2 Mbps  22.9 29.7 42.9 57.3 63.3 16 % of households with an internet connection 44.6 46.7 52.3 59.6 68.9 60.4 8 % of households with a broadband connection 16 23 33 46 54 49 11 % of enterprises with a (fixed) broadband access 55 61 69 72 76 81 20 % of individuals using a mobile phone via UMTS (3G) to access the Internet   1 2 4 3 9 % of indiv. using a laptop via wireless connect. away from home/work to access the 
inter.    14 22 12 2 
Internet Usage               
% pop. who are regular internet users (using the internet at least once a week) 46 49 55 61 66 56 9 
% pop. who are frequent internet users (using the internet every day or almost every 
day) 28 32 39 45 48 43 9 
% population who have never used the internet  40 34 28 25 33 9 
Take up of internet services (as % of population)        
sending emails 45 48 53 54 63 53 8 
looking for information about goods and services 36 42 47 47 51 50 11 uploading self-created content     8 11 16 ordering goods or services, over the Internet, for private use 19 25 32 36 37 32 9 reading online newspapers/magazines 16 21 26 24 30 25 14 selling goods and services (e.g. via auctions) 4 4 8 7 7 10 11 
internet banking 18 22 27 30 34 29 12 
downloading computer or video games or their updates     6 9 23 downloading/listening to/watching music and/or films     20 28 20 paying for online audiovisual contents     5 5 8 listening to the web radio/watching web tv 3 5 7 7 13 20 24 seeking health information on injury, disease or nutrition 6 16 24 27 32 28 7 looking for a job or sending a job application 4 6 9 8 9 13 18 doing an online course    1  3  seeking information with the purpose of learning    9 12 26 24 
eGovernment Indicators               
% basic public services for citizens fully available online 60  70 100  51 1 
% basic public services for enterprises fully available online 88  100 100  72  % of population using eGovernment services 21 29 33 27 39 28 7  % of population using eGovernment services for returning filled in forms     14 12 9 % of enterprises using eGovernment services 74 75 81 81 80 68 10 
 % of enterprises using eGovernment services for returning filled in forms 47 41 54 54 59 50 12 
 of which to submit a proposal in a public electronic tender system (e-procurement)  11 13 11 16 9 3 
eCommerce               
eCommerce as % of total turnover of enterprises 7 7 10 11 13 12 7 
% enterprises selling online 12 10 15 18 15 16 9 % enterprises purchasing online 22 22 37 42 34 28 7 
eBusiness: % of enterprises               
using applications for integrating internal business processes (all enterprises)     59 41 3 
using applications for integrating internal business processes (large enterprises)     92 70 1 using applications for employees to access Human Resources services     19 11 6 exchanging automatically business documents with customers/suppliers     29 25 11 sending/receiving e-invoices    18 17 21 17 sharing information electronically with customers/suppliers on Supply Chain Manag.     20 16 11 using analytical Customer Relation Manag.    29 30 17 1 
Indicators on the ICT sector, ICT skills and R&D               
ICT sector share of total GDP 4.5 4.5 4.4   5.0 11 
ICT sector share of total employment 2.9 2.8 2.8   2.7 9 ICT R&D expenditure by the business sector, as % of GDP 0.5 0.5    0.3 4 = = = = =, as % of total R&D expenditure 31.16 31.96    26.43 10 % of ICT exports on total exports 7.1 6.4 6.6 4.5   20 % of ICT exports on total imports 9.3 8.5 8.4 6.1   22 % of persons employed with ICT user skills. 19.7 18.2 18.3 17.6 17.5 18.4 20 % of persons employed with ICT specialist skills 2.9 3.1 3.1 2.9 3.1 3.0 12 
 
EN 10   EN 2. BELGIUM  
The information society is more  developed in Belgium than on average in the EU. However, 
Belgium is not one of the frontrunners: alt hough broadband markets ar e highly developed and 
performance is good in the fields of eCommerce a nd eBusiness, the country still lags behind in 
the use of advanced services and eGovernment (although some applications  are very successful, 
for example the electronic tax return form "Tax -on-web") . A new nationa l digital strategy is 
under preparation.  
Broadband 
With complete DSL coverage and 93.8% of inte rnet connected households having access to 
broadband (mostly +2Mbps and even +4Mbps conn ections), Belgium has almost completed the 
transition from narrowband to broadband. With fixed broadband penetration at 27.5%, and a good 
balance of platform competition (DSL and cable modem), the country scores above average, even 
though in terms of ranking it lost two places since last year and no longer belongs to the leading 
group of countries. Enterprises' broadband access on the other hand has significantly progressed, 
with Belgium now ranking 4th in the EU (i.e. up 3 places since last year).  
Despite good performance in fixed broadband access,  there is room for improvement in terms of 
exploiting mobile opportunities:  both for 3G mobile phone access and wireless laptop 
connections outside the office or home,  Belgium scores below average.  
Internet Usage  
Belgium ranks among the top third in terms of both regular and frequent inte rnet use. 66% of the 
population are regular internet users, accessing th e internet at least on ce a week, and 51% are 
frequent users, accessing the internet almost every day. One quarter of the population has never 
used the internet. Belgians are above average user s of the most common internet services, such as 
sending emails, looking for information on goods and services and internet banking. By contrast, 
they exhibit below average us e of most other services. 
In the area of eGovernment, while progress has been made in the provision of eGovernment 
services, especially for enterprises, uptake is lagging, particul arly for citizens, with only 16% of 
the population making use of these services.  
ICTs in the Economy 
Progress in enterprises' connectivity has translated  into a more intensive take-up of ICT. Belgium 
scores among the top 8 countries in every eCom merce indicator and shows solid performance in 
the eBusiness area. The Belgian ICT sector is co mparable to the EU27 average, both in terms of 
contribution to GDP and employment.  
Finally, the percentage of people employed with ICT user skills and ICT specialist skills are 
respectively at and below the European aver age, a surprising result given the average 
development of the information society in this country.  
 
EN 11   EN Belgium 
Description 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 EU27 ranking 
Broadband               
Total DSL coverage (as % of total population) 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 99.9 92.7 4 
DSL coverage in rural areas (as % of total population)  100.0 100.0 100.0 99.6 76.6 4 Broadband penetration (as % of population) 15.5 19.2 22.8 25.6 27.5 22.9 8 Speed - % of broadband subscriptions above 2 Mbps  91.7 91.2 90.8 93.9 63.3 2 % of households with an internet connection  50 54 60 64 60 9 % of households with a broadband connection  41 48 56 60 49 7 % of enterprises with a (fixed) broadband access 70 78 84 86 91 81 4 % of individuals using a mobile phone via UMTS (3G) to access the Internet   1 1 1 3 23 % of indiv. using a laptop via wireless connect. away from home/work to access the inter.    7 8 12 17 
Internet Usage               
% pop. who are regular internet users (using the internet at least once a week)  53 58 63 66 56 8 
% pop. who are frequent internet users (using the internet every day or almost every day)  38 45 49 51 43 7 % population who have never used the internet  39 34 29 26 33 12 
Take up of internet services (as % of population)        
sending emails  49 54 60 62 53 9 looking for information about goods and services  43 51 55 58 50 8 uploading self-created content     5 11 21 ordering goods or services, over the Internet, for private use  16 19 21 21 32 14 reading online newspapers/magazines  13 16 17 21 25 20 selling goods and services (e.g. via auctions)   7 8 10 10 10 internet banking  23 28 35 39 29 8 downloading computer or video games or their updates     6 9 21 downloading/listening to/watching music and/or films     23 28 17 paying for online audiovisual contents     3 5 17 listening to the web radio/watching web tv   11 13 15 20 20 seeking health information on injury, disease or nutrition  19 23 25 24 28 15 looking for a job or sending a job application  8 9 8 8 13 20 
doing an online course    2 3 3 14 
seeking information with the purpose of learning    17 20 26 19 
eGovernment Indicators               
% basic public services for citizens fully available online 17  18 42  51 16 
% basic public services for enterprises fully available online 63  88 88  72  
% of population using eGovernment services  18 30 23 16 28 20 
 % of population using eGovernment services for returning filled in forms     5 12 21 % of enterprises using eGovernment services 60 61 59 51 69 68 18  % of enterprises using eGovernment services for returning filled in forms 26 33 37 37 49 50   of which to submit a proposal in a public electronic tender system (e-procurement)   6 3 7 9 20 
eCommerce               
eCommerce as % of total turnover of enterprises 6 9 8 11  12  
% enterprises selling online 18 16 15 18 16 16 8 % enterprises purchasing online 9 18 16 43 34 28 6 
eBusiness: % of enterprises               
using applications for integrating internal business processes (all enterprises)     58 41 4 
using applications for integrating internal business processes (large enterprises)     89 70 2 using applications for employees to access Human Resources services     17 11 8 exchanging automatically business documents with customers/suppliers     39 25 1 
sending/receiving e-invoices    31 36 21 3 
sharing information electronically with customers/suppliers on Supply Chain Manag.     35 16 1 using analytical Customer Relation Manag.    17  17  
Indicators on the ICT sector, ICT skills and R&D               
ICT sector share of total GDP 5.1 5.2 5.0   5.0 6 
ICT sector share of total employment 3.0 3.0 2.9   2.7 8 ICT R&D expenditure by the business sector, as % of GDP 0.31 0.29    0.31 9 = = = = =, as % of total R&D expenditure 23.7 23.6    26.4 15 % of ICT exports on total exports 6.2 5.8 5.3 5.0   16 % of ICT exports on total imports 7.0 6.6 6.1 6.2   21 % of persons employed with ICT user skills. 18.0 19.0 18.8 19.0 18.8 18.4 16 % of persons employed with ICT specialist skills 2.7 2.5 2.6 2.8 2.3 3.0 25 
 
EN 12   EN 3. BULGARIA  
The information society in Bulgaria is at a re latively early stage of de velopment. Although some 
visible progress has taken place since last year in the areas of broadband and internet usage, there 
is still significant room for improvement: very  low rankings on broadband penetration, internet 
usage and eGovernment show the urgent need of fu rther efforts to narrow the gap with the rest of 
Europe. To this end, in the 3rd quarter of 2008, a National Programme for Accelerated 
Information Society Development 2008-2010 was implemented, and proposals for the adoption 
of two complementary programmes with a three- year term of operati on were elaborated: a 
National Programme for the Development of Information Technologies and a National 
Programme for the Development of Broadband Access. Both draft programmes are aimed at 
systematising the efforts and providing for adequa te conditions to conver ge with the advanced 
EU countries in the area of br oadband and ICTs in the economy. 
Broadband 
Fixed broadband penetration wa s 11.2% in 2008, less than ha lf of the EU27 average. The 
percentage of households having access to the inte rnet is among the lowest in Europe. But there 
is a more positive trend in terms of speed: 68.4% of those with internet access use a +2MB/s 
connection, a number only exceeded  by three other countries. This  suggests that Bulgaria is 
leapfrogging the phases of narrowband and slow broadband internet connections.  
Internet Usage 
Rates of internet usage have been gradually improving over the last few years. Nevertheless, 
take-up of the internet in Bulgar ia is still very low and a majo rity (57%) of th e population has 
never used the internet. Usage of internet se rvices is correspondingly low. The most popular 
services are also the most commonly used one s at EU level: sending emails and looking up 
information on goods and services. Another popular activity among inte rnet users in Bulgaria is 
downloading/listening to/watching music and/or films. 
In 2007 availability of eGovernme nt services was low. The rate  of adoption of eGovernment 
services by both citizens and enterp rises is also low, especially for citizens for which it is the 
lowest in the EU. 
ICTs in the Economy 
83% of Bulgarian enterprises are connected to th e internet but only 75% of these connections are 
based on broadband. . This explains why Bulgarian enterprises are still towards the bottom of the 
distribution for use of eCommerce, although some minor improvements have been made in terms 
of ranking. The situation is somewh at better for the take- up of eBusiness. In particular, Bulgaria 
scores well for the implementation of HR-applications, automatic documents exchange and the use of e-invoices.  
Despite the below-average percentages of employees  with ICT-skills, the ICT sector is relatively 
important: its contribution to GDP (6.3% in 2004) exceeds the EU27 average.  
 
EN 13   EN Bulgaria 
Description 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 EU27 ranking 
Broadband               
Total DSL coverage (as % of total population)     N/A 92.7 24 
DSL coverage in rural areas (as % of total population)    0.0 20.0 76.6 25 Broadband penetration (as % of population)   4.5 7.6 11.2 22.9 26 Speed - % of broadband subscriptions above 2 Mbps    58.5 68.4 63.3 9 % of households with an internet connection 10  17 19 25 60 27 % of households with a broadband connection 4  10 15 21 49 26 % of enterprises with a (fixed) broadband access 28 32 57 61 62 81 24 % of individuals using a mobile phone via UMTS (3G) to access the Internet   0 0 1 3 22 % of indiv. using a laptop via wireless connect. away from home/work to access the inter.    1 2 12 26 
Internet Usage               
% pop. who are regular internet users (using the internet at least once a week) 13  22 28 33 56 25 
% pop. who are frequent internet users (using the internet every day or almost every day) 7  14 20 23 43 26 % population who have never used the internet   71 65 57 33 26 
Take up of internet services (as % of population)        
sending emails 14  19 25 28 53 25 
looking for information about goods and services 8  13 17 22 50 26 uploading self-created content     3 11 26 ordering goods or services, over the Internet, for private use 1  2 3 3 32 27 reading online newspapers/magazines 7  11 10 15 25 26 selling goods and services (e.g. via auctions) 0  1 1 1 10 21 internet banking 1  1 2 2 29 27 downloading computer or video games or their updates     6 9 20 downloading/listening to/watching music and/or films     21 28 19 paying for online audiovisual contents     2 5 24 listening to the web radio/watching web tv 6  11 10 13 20 23 seeking health information on injury, disease or nutrition 3  5 5 7 28 27 looking for a job or sending a job application 3  4 5 7 13 23 
doing an online course    1 1 3 26 
seeking information with the purpose of learning    2 5 26 27 
eGovernment Indicators               
% basic public services for citizens fully available online    25  51 21 
% basic public services for enterprises fully available online    0  72  % of population using eGovernment services 5  8 6 8 28 27  % of population using eGovernment services for returning filled in forms     3 12 26 % of enterprises using eGovernment services 38 32 46 45 58 68 24  % of enterprises using eGovernment services for returning filled in forms 9 11 23 29 43 50 20  of which to submit a proposal in a public electronic tender system (e-procurement)  8 17 7 8 9 14 
eCommerce               
eCommerce as % of total turnover of enterprises 4  0 1 1 12 19 
% enterprises selling online 3  2 1 2 16 25 % enterprises purchasing online 4  3 3 3 28 25 
eBusiness: % of enterprises               
using applications for integrating internal business processes (all enterprises)     35 41 21 
using applications for integrating internal business processes (large enterprises)     54 70 25 using applications for employees to access Human Resources services     22 11 2 exchanging automatically business documents with customers/suppliers     31 25 10 sending/receiving e-invoices    9 26 21 8 sharing information electronically with customers/suppliers on Supply Chain Manag.     14 16 16 using analytical Customer Relation Manag.    9 9 17 20 
Indicators on the ICT sector, ICT skills and R&D               
ICT sector share of total GDP 6.3     5.0  
ICT sector share of total employment 1.9     2.7  ICT R&D expenditure by the business sector, as % of GDP 0.02 0.03    0.31 24 = = = = =, as % of total R&D expenditure 17.7 24.9    26.4 14 % of ICT exports on total exports 2.0 2.4 2.4 2.7   24 
% of ICT exports on total imports 5.7 5.9 5.8 5.7   25 
% of persons employed with ICT user skills. 11.7 11.7 11.4 11.5 12.1 18.4 25 % of persons employed with ICT specialist skills 2.7 2.7 2.6 2.6 2.6 3.0 22 
 
EN 14   EN 4. CYPRUS  
The information society in Cyprus is at early st ages of development. Although efforts have been 
made to improve connectivity, the take-up of in ternet services by the public systematically 
remains below the European average. eBusiness sc ores are showing a brig hter picture, while a 
good e-skill base can be a firm foundation for fu rther development. To exploit the opportunities 
provided by ICTs, Cyprus is developing an in tegrated National Strategy for the Information 
Society, including the appointment of a Commissioner for Informati on Society, the creation of an 
appropriate institutional and re gulatory framework for increased and safer Internet usage, the 
promotion of ICT and the internet into everyday life and the expansion of  broadband coverage in 
rural areas.  
Broadband 
In only four years time, fixe d broadband penetration in Cypr us rose from 2.5% to 18.2%, 
narrowing the gap with the rest of Europe, w ith enterprise connectivity on the rise and 
widespread broadband coverage (although rural areas are not covered, only 3% of population 
resides in these areas). Howeve r, only a small fraction of br oadband connections are fast 
(+2MB/s) and mobile access is scarcely used.  
Internet Usage 
Cyprus exhibits low rates of both regular and fr equent internet use, an d little improvement has 
been made in recent years. The rates of regular  internet use stagnated at 35% between 2007 and 
2008 and only a 1pp. increase was observed in the rate  of frequent use, to 24%, over this period. 
Furthermore, more than half of the population ha s never used the intern et. Usage of internet 
services is less common than in the majority of other EU countries and the take up of internet 
services did not increase si gnificantly for any of the indicators measured in 2007.  
Some progress has been made with  regard to the provision of public  services for enterprises and 
take-up by enterprises has reached 65%. However, both provision and take-up for and by citizens is relatively low.  
ICTs in the Economy 
The percentage of employees with ICT user/special ist skills is in line w ith the EU average. The 
use of applications for integrati ng internal business proc esses is above average,  but the take up of 
eBusiness and eCommerce servic es remains generally low.  
 
EN 15   EN Cyprus 
Description 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 EU27 ranking 
Broadband               
Total DSL coverage (as % of total population)  69.7 69.7 79.6 93.2 92.7 15 
DSL coverage in rural areas (as % of total population)  0.0 0.0 0.0 12.0 76.6 26 Broadband penetration (as % of population) 2.5 6.3 8.9 13.8 18.2 22.9 17 Speed - % of broadband subscriptions above 2 Mbps  0.0 0.0 8.6 11.9 63.3 27 % of households with an internet connection 53 32 37 39 43 60 24 % of households with a broadband connection 2 4 12 20 33 49 23 % of enterprises with a (fixed) broadband access 35 40 55 69 79 81 19 % of individuals using a mobile phone via UMTS (3G) to access the Internet   0 1 1 3 26 % of indiv. using a laptop via wireless connect. away from home/work to access the inter.    7 3 12 22 
Internet Usage               
% pop. who are regular internet users (using the internet at least once a week) 28 26 29 35 35 56 24 
% pop. who are frequent internet users (using the internet every day or almost every day) 18 16 19 23 24 43 24 
% population who have never used the internet  64 62 56 54 33 23 Take up of internet services (as % of population)        sending emails 24 23 25 30 30 53 24 
looking for information about goods and services 21 24 27 32 32 50 23 uploading self-created content     6 11 20 ordering goods or services, over the Internet, for private use 4 5 7 10 9 32 23 reading online newspapers/magazines 17 15 20 22 23 25 17 selling goods and services (e.g. via auctions) 0 0 1 1 1 10 22 internet banking 4 6 6 12 11 29 24 downloading computer or video games or their updates     7 9 19 downloading/listening to/watching music and/or films     16 28 25 paying for online audiovisual contents     1 5 25 listening to the web radio/watching web tv 12 9 9 13 12 20 25 
seeking health information on injury, disease or nutrition 6 8 11 14 12 28 24 
looking for a job or sending a job application 3 3 5 5 4 13 26 doing an online course    1 1 3 24 seeking information with the purpose of learning    21 17 26 20 
eGovernment Indicators               
% basic public services for citizens fully available online 17  25 33  51 18 
% basic public services for enterprises fully available online 38  50 63  72  % of population using eGovernment services 11 11 13 20 16 28 21  % of population using eGovernment services for returning filled in forms     6 12 19 % of enterprises using eGovernment services 35 40 44 54 65 68 20  % of enterprises using eGovernment services for returning filled in forms 11 9 8 14 18 50 26  of which to submit a proposal in a public electronic tender system (e-procurement)  0 0 0 0 9 26 
eCommerce               
eCommerce as % of total turnover of enterprises  0 2 1 1 12 18 
% enterprises selling online 5 4 6 7 7 16 18 
% enterprises purchasing online 14 15 10 12 14 28 16 
eBusiness: % of enterprises               
using applications for integrating internal business processes (all enterprises)     46 41 15 
using applications for integrating internal business processes (large enterprises)     81 70 10 using applications for employees to access Human Resources services     7 11 24 exchanging automatically business documents with customers/suppliers     8 25 27 sending/receiving e-invoices    10 7 21 26 sharing information electronically with customers/suppliers on Supply Chain Manag.     8 16 25 using analytical Customer Relation Manag.    14 14 17 14 
Indicators on the ICT sector, ICT skills and R&D               
ICT sector share of total GDP      5.0  
ICT sector share of total employment      2.7  ICT R&D expenditure by the business sector, as % of GDP 0.03 0.04    0.31 21 
= = = = =, as % of total R&D expenditure 42.2 39.4    26.4 3 
% of ICT exports on total exports 5.3 7.9 5.6 4.7   18 % of ICT exports on total imports 6.9 9.8 7.5 6.1   23 % of persons employed with ICT user skills. 17.7 18.0 18.9 19.5 18.9 18.4 15 % of persons employed with ICT specialist skills 2.6 2.5 2.6 2.9 3.1 3.0 11 
 
EN 16   EN 5. THE CZECH REPUBLIC  
Progress in the development of the information so ciety in the Czech Republic is visible although 
the country is still lagging behind in comparison to general developments in the EU. The country 
scores well in particular in th e areas of eCommerce and in the us e of applications for integrating 
internal business processes. To this end, the ' Operational Programme Enterprise and Innovation'  
has been conceived to support companies which inve st in ICT to increase effectiveness in their 
internal operations ( 'ICT in Enterprises'  programme) or to support th e creation/upgrading of ICT 
companies and services ( ''ICT and Strategic Services'  programme).  
Broadband 
Progress in DSL coverage has been strong and is in line with the EU27 aver age. There has been a 
significant improvement in households' connectiv ity over the last years and the share of 
broadband subscriptions rela tive to total internet subscriptions has increased from 23% in 2004 to 
over 79% in 2008. Fixed broadband penetration a nd the percentage of households having access 
to broadband however remain low. Neverthe less, all broadband subs criptions now display 
+2MB/s speeds, suggesting that the Czech Republic is benefiting from the development of platform competition and accelerating its trans ition to broadband. The percentage of users 
accessing the internet through UMTS is also above average. 
Internet Usage  
The Czech Republic has a somewhat lower proporti on of regular and freque nt internet users in 
the population than the EU averag e, although the proportion of t hose who have never used the 
internet is the same as for the EU as a whol e. In addition, the numb er of users has risen 
substantially over the past few years: the numbe r of regular users has doubled over the period 
since 2005 to reach 51% in 2008, and the number of frequent users has tripled, to reach 30%.  
The most popular internet services used by C zech citizens are sending emails and looking for 
information on goods and services, as in the rest  of EU. Other popular se rvices include reading 
online newspapers and ordering go ods and services online. In re lation to the take up of other 
internet services, the Czech Republic still ranks quite low. 
The take-up of eGovernment by citi zens is amongst the lowest in th e EU. This is possibly related 
to the fact that the availability of public servi ces is also low. For enterprises, the picture is 
completely different: 100% of services are av ailable online and take-up exceeds the EU average 
by 5 p.p. 
ICTs in the Economy 
The Czech Republic scores relatively well on the eCommerce dimension. With 15% of total 
turnover coming from eComme rce, the country ranks 4
th. The share of en terprises buying and 
selling online lies around the European average, giving the Czech Republic a place in the top-10 
for both aspects. For eBusiness, the picture is less positive: the popularity of business integration 
applications is important, but the other indicators yield low scores. 
It is also clear that ICT is an important e xport product. Accordingly, the percentage of high-
skilled ICT professionals lies above  average. The presence of ICT us er and ICT specialist skills 
in enterprises is increasing over time.  
 
EN 17   EN The Czech Republic 
Description 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 EU27 ranking 
Broadband               
Total DSL coverage (as % of total population)  74.7 81.3 85.0 92.0 92.7 19 
DSL coverage in rural areas (as % of total population)    75.0 85.0 76.6 13 Broadband penetration (as % of population) 2.2 6.4 10.6 14.6 17.1 22.9 20 Speed - % of broadband subscriptions above 2 Mbps   9.0 43.4 100.0 63.3 1 % of households with an internet connection 19 19 29 35 46 60 23 % of households with a broadband connection 4 5 17 28 36 49 21 % of enterprises with a (fixed) broadband access 38 52 69 77 79 81 17 % of individuals using a mobile phone via UMTS (3G) to access the Internet   1 4 5 3 5 % of indiv. using a laptop via wireless connect. away from home/work to access the inter.    3 7 12 18 
Internet Usage               
% pop. who are regular internet users (using the internet at least once a week) 25 26 36 42 51 56 17 
% pop. who are frequent internet users (using the internet every day or almost every day) 10 10 18 24 30 43 22 
% population who have never used the internet  63 49 46 33 33 14 Take up of internet services (as % of population)        sending emails 27 27 37 42 51 53 15 
looking for information about goods and services 17 20 32 37 45 50 18 uploading self-created content     2 11 27 ordering goods or services, over the Internet, for private use 5 5 13 17 23 32 12 reading online newspapers/magazines 10 12 19 22 33 25 12 selling goods and services (e.g. via auctions)   5   10  internet banking 5 5 10 12 14 29 20 downloading computer or video games or their updates     5 9 26 downloading/listening to/watching music and/or films     19 28 22 paying for online audiovisual contents     4 5 12 listening to the web radio/watching web tv 3 3 6 8 13 20 21 
seeking health information on injury, disease or nutrition  3 10 11 14 28 23 
looking for a job or sending a job application 3 2 4 4 5 13 25 doing an online course    1 2 3 20 seeking information with the purpose of learning    17 10 26 26 
eGovernment Indicators               
% basic public services for citizens fully available online 17  8 25  51 21 
% basic public services for enterprises fully available online 50  63 100  72  % of population using eGovernment services 7 5 17 16 14 28 24  % of population using eGovernment services for returning filled in forms     4 12 24 % of enterprises using eGovernment services 75 79 76 73 73 68 17  % of enterprises using eGovernment services for returning filled in forms 24 32 32 34 35 50 24  of which to submit a proposal in a public electronic tender system (e-procurement)  16 10 12 8 9 17 
eCommerce               
eCommerce as % of total turnover of enterprises 6 8 7 9 15 12 4 
% enterprises selling online 11 13 8 9 15 16 10 
% enterprises purchasing online 19 21 17 22 26 28 8 
eBusiness: % of enterprises               
using applications for integrating internal business processes (all enterprises)     49 41 9 
using applications for integrating internal business processes (large enterprises)     85 70 4 using applications for employees to access Human Resources services     5 11 26 exchanging automatically business documents with customers/suppliers     15 25 24 sending/receiving e-invoices    33 17 21 19 sharing information electronically with customers/suppliers on Supply Chain Manag.     12 16 23 using analytical Customer Relation Manag.    15 14 17 15 
Indicators on the ICT sector, ICT skills and R&D               
ICT sector share of total GDP      5.0  
ICT sector share of total employment      2.7  ICT R&D expenditure by the business sector, as % of GDP 0.11 0.14    0.31 13 
= = = = =, as % of total R&D expenditure 13.9 15.8    26.4 20 
% of ICT exports on total exports 12.2 12.1 13.5 14.9   5 % of ICT exports on total imports 13.2 12.4 14.3 15.3   4 % of persons employed with ICT user skills. 16.5 16.8 17.4 17.9 18.3 18.4 18 
% of persons employed with ICT specialist skills 3.9 3.9 4.1 4.5 4.8 3.0 3 
 
EN 18   EN 6. DENMARK  
Denmark is among the top nations for most i2010 indicators and is a cl ear frontrunner in the 
development of the information society. It is the leader in broadband penetration and has the 
highest share of frequent internet  users in Europe. With an action plan on green ICT launched in 
2008, Denmark is also at the forefront in  terms of eco-friendly usage of ICT. 
Broadband 
Denmark ranks first in the EU in terms of broadband penetra tion rate (37.3%) and features 
complete coverage of fixed broadband networks. 90% of internet connected households subscribe 
to broadband. Mobile connectivity  opportunities are used twice as much as the EU average. All 
this makes Denmark one of the top countries regarding broadband connectivity for citizens. Enterprises however are not capitalising on broadba nd connectivity at similar rates: broadband 
take-up has been stabilizing ove r the last years around 80%, in line with the EU27 average.  
Internet Usage 
Denmark is one of the frontrunners in terms of re gular and frequent use of  the internet , with 80% 
and 71% of the population accessing the internet at least once a week and almost every day, 
respectively. This is well above  the EU averages for these indicators. In addition, the share of 
individuals never having used  the internet, at 12%, is amongst the lowest in the EU. 
Furthermore, all internet services are used by a la rger percentage of the Danish population than is 
average for the EU, whether it be the most comm on ones, such as sending emails or looking for 
information about goods and servic es, or the less commonly used one s, such as paying for online 
content, downloading computer or  video games or their updates,  selling goods and services and 
uploading self-created content.  
Denmark has around 50% availabili ty of public services for citizens online and 86% for 
enterprises. As with the majority of Member St ates, Denmark has a larger  uptake of online public 
services by enterprises than by citizens. However, as with other take-up indicators, take-up of online public services in Denmark has one of the highest rates.  
ICTs in the Economy 
Despite losing some places on the European ranki ng for some indicators, Denmark still performs 
well in the fields of eCommerce and eBusin ess, with scores well above average.  
For the ICT sector as a whole, figures are agai n very positive, both in absolute numbers and in 
terms of ranking. ICT is a significant contributor  to the Danish GDP and employment. The R&D 
expenditure on ICT is relatively high and there is a strong presence of both user and specialist 
skills in employment.  
 
EN 19   EN Denmark 
Description 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 EU27 ranking 
Broadband               
Total DSL coverage (as % of total population) 95.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 92.7 1 
DSL coverage in rural areas (as % of total population)  100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 76.6 1 Broadband penetration (as % of population) 19.2 24.7 31.9 35.6 37.3 22.9 1 Speed - % of broadband subscriptions above 2 Mbps  11.3 16.2 48.6 70.5 63.3 8 % of households with an internet connection 69 75 79 78 82 60 3 % of households with a broadband connection 36 51 63 70 74 49 1 % of enterprises with a (fixed) broadband access 80 82 83 80 80 81 16 % of individuals using a mobile phone via UMTS (3G) to access the Internet   1 1 6 3 3 % of indiv. using a laptop via wireless connect. away from home/work to access the inter.    25  12  
Internet Usage               
% pop. who are regular internet users (using the internet at least once a week) 70 73 78 76 80 56 3 
% pop. who are frequent internet users (using the internet every day or almost every day) 53 57 65 66 71 43 1 % population who have never used the internet  14 10 12 12 33 3 
Take up of internet services (as % of population)        
sending emails 65 69 74 74 76 53 3 looking for information about goods and services 59 63 68 68 73 50 3 uploading self-created content     14 11 10 ordering goods or services, over the Internet, for private use 42 48 55 56 59 32 1 reading online newspapers/magazines 36 38 46 47 52 25 3 selling goods and services (e.g. via auctions) 5 5 17 22 19 10 2 internet banking 45 49 57 57 61 29 4 downloading computer or video games or their updates     11 9 9 downloading/listening to/watching music and/or films     36 28 4 paying for online audiovisual contents     14 5 2 listening to the web radio/watching web tv 16 19 27 34 37 20 2 seeking health information on injury, disease or nutrition 27 24 28 38 36 28 6 looking for a job or sending a job application 16 19 20 26 23 13 2 
doing an online course    4 3 3 10 
seeking information with the purpose of learning    53 47 26 2 
eGovernment Indicators               
% basic public services for citizens fully available online 33  42 50  51 14 
% basic public services for enterprises fully available online 88  88 86  72  % of population using eGovernment services 44  43 58 44 28 5  % of population using eGovernment services for returning filled in forms     27 12 2 % of enterprises using eGovernment services 85 87 87 88 90 68 3  % of enterprises using eGovernment services for returning filled in forms  56 55 61 65 50 8  of which to submit a proposal in a public electronic tender system (e-procurement)   5 7 8 9 15 
eCommerce               
eCommerce as % of total turnover of enterprises 12  17 22  12  
% enterprises selling online 25 32 34 33 20 16 5 % enterprises purchasing online 28 32 34 36 38 28 5 
eBusiness: % of enterprises               
using applications for integrating internal business processes (all enterprises)     57 41 6 
using applications for integrating internal business processes (large enterprises)     85 70 5 using applications for employees to access Human Resources services     24 11 1 exchanging automatically business documents with customers/suppliers     38 25 3 sending/receiving e-invoices    37 43 21 1 sharing information electronically with customers/suppliers on Supply Chain Manag.     22 16 7 using analytical Customer Relation Manag.    17 19 17 7 
Indicators on the ICT sector, ICT skills and R&D               
ICT sector share of total GDP  4.9 5.1   5.0 5 
ICT sector share of total employment  3.6 3.7   2.7 4 ICT R&D expenditure by the business sector, as % of GDP 0.51 0.58    0.31 3 = = = = =, as % of total R&D expenditure 30.0 34.7    26.4 7 % of ICT exports on total exports 5.4 7.2 6.0 4.9   17 
% of ICT exports on total imports 8.1 10.5 9.1 8.0   14 
% of persons employed with ICT user skills. 22.6 24.0 23.5 23.2 22.8 18.4 4 % of persons employed with ICT specialist skills 4.0 3.5 3.9 4.0 4.4 3.0 4 
 
EN 20   EN 7. ESTONIA  
Estonia presents a mixed picture of information soci ety developments. It is strong in the fields of 
eGovernment and in some of th e eBusiness indicators, including enterprises' connectivity, but 
generally weak in eCommerce. The " Estonian Information Society Strategy 2013 " which covers 
the period from 2007-2013, sets as main objective that each citizen should be  able to benefit of 
the opportunities of the informa tion society in every possible wa y and actively participate in 
public life (" nobody will stay or will be left behind "). It also states that Estonia's economic growth 
is based on the wide use of ICT solutions an d supported by a public sector which is citizen-
centred, transparent and efficient.  
Broadband 
Estonian households and enterpri ses have a higher level of br oadband connectivity than the EU 
average – with a broadband penetration rate of  24.6%, Estonia is showing the best performance 
of the Member States that join ed the EU since May 2004 – and gr owth is continuing. Moreover, 
94% of the internet connected households us e broadband connections. Despite widespread 
connectivity, few of these broadba nd subscriptions have speeds above 2MB/s (only 38.9%, one of 
the lowest percentages in Europe). 88% of the enterprises have broadband access, giving Estonia a 7
th place in the European ranking, up by 20 percen tage points relative to four years ago.  
Internet Usage 
Estonia has a somewhat higher prop ortion of the population that are regular and frequent internet 
users than is average for the EU, and only abou t a quarter of the population has never used the 
internet, compared to around a third for the EU. With regard to the use of internet services, while 
Estonians are above average users of some services , for others they record low rates of use. On 
the one hand Estonia has the highest rate of inte rnet use for the purpose of uploading self-created 
content, ranks second in terms of the proportion  of the population that reads online newspapers 
and has more than the double the percentage of people using internet banking than is average for 
the EU. On the other hand only 1% of the popul ation pay for online content and only 10% buy 
goods and services online. Use of other services is around average. 
Both the provision and use of eGovernment services  is more advanced in Estonia than the EU 
average. While 58% of public services for citizens  are available online, for enterprises it is 88%. 
Rates of take up are 34% and 77%, respectively.  
ICTs in the Economy 
With only 11% and 18% of enterprises selling a nd purchasing online, Est onia is still lagging 
behind in the field of eCommerce. The situation is  mixed for eBusiness: with the exception of the 
indicators on the automatic exchange of documents and se nding and receivin g e-invoices, 
Estoniais one of the weakest countries in Europe for the other indicators.  
The latest figures reveal that the importance of  the Estonian ICT sector  in terms of GDP and 
employment is in line with the EU27 average. Th e same holds for the percentage of employees 
with ICT user or specialist skills.  
ICT R&D represents one quarter of total R&D, but total R&D expenditure is low. The shares of 
ICT exports and imports have been falling over time.  
 
EN 21   EN Estonia 
Description 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 EU27 ranking 
Broadband               
Total DSL coverage (as % of total population)  90.0 90.0 85.0 93.9 92.7 13 
DSL coverage in rural areas (as % of total population)    73.0 80.0 76.6 17 Broadband penetration (as % of population) 10.3 13.3 18.4 21.2 24.6 22.9 10 Speed - % of broadband subscriptions above 2 Mbps    3.7 38.9 63.3 21 % of households with an internet connection 31 39 46 53 58 60 15 % of households with a broadband connection 20 30 37 48 54 49 12 % of enterprises with a (fixed) broadband access 68 67 76 78 88 81 7 % of individuals using a mobile phone via UMTS (3G) to access the Internet   1 2 2 3 15 % of indiv. using a laptop via wireless connect. away from home/work to access the inter.    12 16 12 9 
Internet Usage               
% pop. who are regular internet users (using the internet at least once a week) 45 54 56 59 62 56 12 
% pop. who are frequent internet users (using the internet every day or almost every day) 27 40 40 43 45 43 11 % population who have never used the internet  36 34 32 26 33 10 
Take up of internet services (as % of population)        
sending emails 39 49 49 54 54 53 12 
looking for information about goods and services 32 41 44 48 53 50 10 uploading self-created content     21 11 1 ordering goods or services, over the Internet, for private use 6 7 7 9 10 32 21 reading online newspapers/magazines 38 46 50 50 54 25 2 selling goods and services (e.g. via auctions) 3 4 3 5 5 10 13 internet banking 35 45 48 53 55 29 5 downloading computer or video games or their updates     11 9 7 downloading/listening to/watching music and/or films     25 28 16 paying for online audiovisual contents     1 5 26 listening to the web radio/watching web tv 13 15 17 21 19 20 14 seeking health information on injury, disease or nutrition  16 18 26 25 28 12 looking for a job or sending a job application 12 18 17 13 15 13 9 
doing an online course    7 5 3 4 
seeking information with the purpose of learning     22 26 14 
eGovernment Indicators               
% basic public services for citizens fully available online 36  64 58  51 9 
% basic public services for enterprises fully available online 100  100 88  72  % of population using eGovernment services 20 31 29 30 34 28 8  % of population using eGovernment services for returning filled in forms     24 12 5 % of enterprises using eGovernment services 84 70 69 76 77 68 13  % of enterprises using eGovernment services for returning filled in forms 54 50 54 58 62 50 10  of which to submit a proposal in a public electronic tender system (e-procurement)   13 13 12 9 6 
eCommerce               
eCommerce as % of total turnover of enterprises 3 2    12  
% enterprises selling online 8 8 14 7 11 16 13 % enterprises purchasing online 32 13 17 13 18 28 14 
eBusiness: % of enterprises               
using applications for integrating internal business processes (all enterprises)     42 41 18 
using applications for integrating internal business processes (large enterprises)     72 70 18 using applications for employees to access Human Resources services     8 11 20 exchanging automatically business documents with customers/suppliers     34 25 7 sending/receiving e-invoices    25 39 21 2 sharing information electronically with customers/suppliers on Supply Chain Manag.     13 16 20 using analytical Customer Relation Manag.    10 9 17 23 
Indicators on the ICT sector, ICT skills and R&D               
ICT sector share of total GDP  4.9 4.7   5.0 8 
ICT sector share of total employment  2.9 2.9   2.7 7 ICT R&D expenditure by the business sector, as % of GDP 0.12 0.15    0.31 11 = = = = =, as % of total R&D expenditure 36.9 35.3    26.4 6 % of ICT exports on total exports 13.6 13.9 11.6 6.5   12 
% of ICT exports on total imports 12.8 13.7 10.7 7.7   17 
% of persons employed with ICT user skills. 17.2 19.9 17.8 19.3 18.9 184 14 % of persons employed with ICT specialist skills 2.4 2.7 2.5 2.6 2.9 3.0 13 
 
EN 22   EN 8. FINLAND  
Finland is amongst the best perf orming countries in Europe and is one of the frontrunners in 
information society developments in all respects. The ICT sector is very important for the Finnish 
economy The National information society policy is pl anning to further deve lop infrastructure, to 
innovate environment and markets, to develop c ontent and services, expertise and preparedness. 
The public sector structures will be revamped an d provision of electronic public services will be 
increased.  
Broadband  
In comparison to last year, the broadband penetr ation rate went down, lo wering Finland's ranking 
from 2 to 4. However, just like for coverage, pe netration still largely exceeds the EU27 average. 
The share of internet connected households (using  broadband connections in  92% of the cases) is 
one of the highest in Europe t oo. The percentage of broadband s ubscriptions above 2 Mbps is one 
of the only indicators for which Finland scores be low average. Given the presence of one of the 
leading mobile phone manufacturers, the adoption of mobile  connectivity could be  expected to be 
higher as well.  
Finally, 92% of all enterprises have access to broadband internet. Nevertheless, Finland is no 
longer leading the Europ ean ranking in this re spect, and scores third. 
Internet Usage 
With almost 4/5th of the population using the inte rnet on a regular basis,  mostly via high speed 
broadband connections, Finland ranks as one of the best countries fo r internet use in the EU. This 
high broadband take-up is clearly reflected in the use of Internet  services, for which Finland is 
placed among the highest ranking countries on almost all measured indicators. In particular, there 
is nowhere else in the EU where a larger proportion of the population uses the internet to look for 
health information, take courses, lo ok for a job or read a newspaper. 
In the field of eGovernment, Finland is also on e of the leading countries . Its use by enterprises 
and citizens is the highest and second highes t in Europe respectively. However, online 
availability of services for companies lies belo w the EU average and has decreased substantially 
in recent years.  
ICTs in the economy 
In no other European country, the ICT sector contri butes more to the GDP than in Finland, and its 
share in total employment is only higher in Sweden. Accordingly, the (relative) spending on 
R&D is unseen in any other country. ICT exports account for a relatively  large share of total 
exports and imports, but this shar e is decreasing. The importance of ICTs for Finnish companies 
is reflected in the adoption of eBusiness applications, which all score above average. With the 
notable exception of customer re lation management, the rankings a nd scores on this dimension do 
not fully match the overall development of  the information society in Finland.  
 
EN 23   EN Finland 
Description 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 EU27 ranking 
Broadband               
Total DSL coverage (as % of total population) 89.4 90.4 91.8 96.0 95.7 92.7 10 
DSL coverage in rural areas (as % of total population)  78.0 82.0 91.0 90.0 76.6 7 Broadband penetration (as % of population) 14.9 22.4 27.1 34.6 30.7 22.9 4 Speed - % of broadband subscriptions above 2 Mbps  30.8 26.7 31.9 60.3 63.3 15 % of households with an internet connection 51 54 65 69 72 60 6 % of households with a broadband connection 21 36 53 63 66 49 4 % of enterprises with a (fixed) broadband access 71 81 89 91 92 81 3 % of individuals using a mobile phone via UMTS (3G) to access the Internet   2 2 4 3 11 % of indiv. using a laptop via wireless connect. away from home/work to access the inter.    8 12 12 10 
Internet Usage               
% pop. who are regular internet users (using the internet at least once a week) 63 62 71 75 78 56 4 
% pop. who are frequent internet users (using the internet every day or almost every day) 46 49 56 62 66 43 4 
% population who have never used the internet  23 18 17 13 33 4 Take up of internet services (as % of population)        sending emails 62 63 67 71 74 53 5 
looking for information about goods and services 59 62 67 68 73 50 4 uploading self-created content     9 11 12 ordering goods or services, over the Internet, for private use 33 38 44 48 51 32 6 reading online newspapers/magazines 37 41 46 50 57 25 1 selling goods and services (e.g. via auctions) 8 9 14 13 14 10 7 internet banking 50 56 63 66 72 29 1 downloading computer or video games or their updates     7 9 17 downloading/listening to/watching music and/or films     34 28 5 paying for online audiovisual contents     9 5 5 listening to the web radio/watching web tv 12 17 20 24 33 20 4 
seeking health information on injury, disease or nutrition 33 39 44 47 51 28 1 
looking for a job or sending a job application 22 24 26 26 26 13 1 doing an online course    13 14 3 1 seeking information with the purpose of learning    30 31 26 7 
eGovernment Indicators               
% basic public services for citizens fully available online 60  60 80  51 6 
% basic public services for enterprises fully available online 75  63 50  72  % of population using eGovernment services 45 47 47 50 53 28 2  % of population using eGovernment services for returning filled in forms     18 12 7 % of enterprises using eGovernment services 91 91 93 94 95 68 1  % of enterprises using eGovernment services for returning filled in forms 61 71 78 78 81 50 1  of which to submit a proposal in a public electronic tender system (e-procurement)   0 0 0 9 26 
eCommerce               
eCommerce as % of total turnover of enterprises 13 14 14 15 16 12  
% enterprises selling online 17 17 14 15 13 16  
% enterprises purchasing online 19 19 23 19  28  
eBusiness: % of enterprises               
using applications for integrating internal business processes (all enterprises)     49 41 10 
using applications for integrating internal business processes (large enterprises)     74 70 15 using applications for employees to access Human Resources services     18 11 7 exchanging automatically business documents with customers/suppliers     28 25 13 sending/receiving e-invoices    27 25 21 9 sharing information electronically with customers/suppliers on Supply Chain Manag.     20 16 12 using analytical Customer Relation Manag.    26 25 17 3 
Indicators on the ICT sector, ICT skills and R&D               
ICT sector share of total GDP 7.9 8.0 8.2   5.0 1 
ICT sector share of total employment 4.8 4.8 4.6   2.7 2 ICT R&D expenditure by the business sector, as % of GDP 1.53 1.57    0.31 1 
= = = = =, as % of total R&D expenditure 63.1 63.6    26.4 1 
% of ICT exports on total exports 17.0 20.2 17.4 14.6   6 % of ICT exports on total imports 13.1 14.8 13.7 13.1   6 % of persons employed with ICT user skills. 19.9 20.0 20.6 20.6 20.0 18.4 9 % of persons employed with ICT specialist skills 4.0 4.3 4.3 4.2 4.1 3.0 5 
 
EN 24   EN 9. FRANCE  
France is fairly advanced in the information so ciety, with many benchmarking indicators above 
the EU average, notably in the area of broadband, which have tran slated in advanced internet 
usage. However, ICT usage by businesses and eS kills are weaker than other areas. Further 
progress is expected from the France's natio nal strategy "Digital Fr ance 2012", the country’s 
action plan for the development of the Di gital Economy by 2012. The plan has the goal of 
making it one of the best ICT countries by 20 12, by providing 100% coverage of fixed and 
mobile broadband and introducing digital television. The plan rests on four  priorities: (1) to 
provide access of the whole popula tion to the internet and digita l services, (2) to develop the 
production and supply of digital cont ent, (3) to increase and divers ify usage and digital services 
within enterprises, administrations and househol ds, and (4) to modernise the governance of the 
digital economy. 
Broadband  
The broadband market has continued to grow, r eaching a penetration rate of 27.7% in 2008, 
improving France's ranking by two places, and feat uring high speeds. There is almost full DSL 
coverage in the whole country. 62% of househol ds have an internet connection (92% are 
broadband), slightly exceeding the EU27 average.  Mobile access to the internet is not yet 
developed. Enterprises on the other hand, do take advantage of the high DSL coverage. With 92% 
of the companies having broadband access, France ranks first on this indicator.  
Internet Usage 
In France, regular and frequent ra tes of internet use have been ri sing in recent years and they are 
currently somewhat higher than the average fo r the EU. Around a quarter of the population has 
never used the internet, compared to a third for the EU.  
On average, use by French citizens of various inte rnet services is also above the EU average. 
While the most popular activities are sending ema ils and looking up information about goods and 
services, as in most other countries, France is also one of the best countries for looking up 
information for the purpose of learning. The least popular activities includ e doing online courses, 
paying for online audiovisual content and down loading computer or video games and their 
updates. This is the case for most EU countries. 
Both availability and take up of eGovernment se rvices is above the EU average in France. As 
with most Member States, it is more develope d for enterprises than it is for citizens. 
ICTs in the Economy 
France's performance on the eCommerce and eBusiness dimensions is not exceptional. For 
eCommerce, the share of e-turnover is equal to  the EU27 average, but scores for the two other 
indicators are below average. For eBusiness, th e rankings are relatively low, with the exception 
of the use of applications for in tegrating internal business processe s by large enterprises. Despite 
high connectivity in Europe, French  enterprises do not seem to ta ke advantage of this opportunity 
to boost eBusiness and eCommerce.  
The ICT sector's share in GDP and employment is in  line with the European average, just like the 
ICT R&D expenditure. More could be exp ected however in terms of eSkills.  
 
EN 25   EN France 
Description 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 EU27 ranking 
Broadband               
Total DSL coverage (as % of total population) 90.8 96.4 98.4 98.5 100.0 92.7 1 
DSL coverage in rural areas (as % of total population)  87.9 96.5 96.7 100.0 76.6 1 Broadband penetration (as % of population) 11.2 16.4 20.4 23.3 27.7 22.9 7 Speed - % of broadband subscriptions above 2 Mbps  30.5 40.6 54.7 64.4 63.3 14 % of households with an internet connection 34  41 49 62 60 11 % of households with a broadband connection   30 43 57 49 8 % of enterprises with a (fixed) broadband access   86 89 92 81 1 % of individuals using a mobile phone via UMTS (3G) to access the Internet    1 1 3 19 % of indiv. using a laptop via wireless connect. away from home/work to access the inter.    7 10 12 14 
Internet Usage               
% pop. who are regular internet users (using the internet at least once a week)   39 57 63 56 10 
% pop. who are frequent internet users (using the internet every day or almost every day)   26 41 47 43 10 
% population who have never used the internet   46 32 26 33 11 Take up of internet services (as % of population)        sending emails   34 48 57 53 11 looking for information about goods and services   36 55 57 50 9 uploading self-created content     17 11 5 ordering goods or services, over the Internet, for private use   22 35 40 32 8 reading online newspapers/magazines   9 18 22 25 18 selling goods and services (e.g. via auctions)    7 10 10 9 internet banking   18 32 40 29 7 downloading computer or video games or their updates     6 9 22 downloading/listening to/watching music and/or films     38 28 3 paying for online audiovisual contents     5 5 9 listening to the web radio/watching web tv   10 17 24 20 8 
seeking health information on injury, disease or nutrition   13 29 39 28 5 
looking for a job or sending a job application   6 13 17 13 5 doing an online course    2 4 3 9 seeking information with the purpose of learning    43 47 26 3 
eGovernment Indicators               
% basic public services for citizens fully available online 42  58 58  51 9 
% basic public services for enterprises fully available online 63  75 88  72  % of population using eGovernment services   26 41 43 28 6  % of population using eGovernment services for returning filled in forms     25 12 4 % of enterprises using eGovernment services   66 69 73 68 16  % of enterprises using eGovernment services for returning filled in forms   51 59 67 50 7  of which to submit a proposal in a public electronic tender system (e-procurement)   11 9 13 9 5 
eCommerce               
eCommerce as % of total turnover of enterprises     12 12 9 
% enterprises selling online     13 16 11 
% enterprises purchasing online     18 28 13 
eBusiness: % of enterprises               
using applications for integrating internal business processes (all enterprises)     46 41 14 
using applications for integrating internal business processes (large enterprises)     81 70 9 using applications for employees to access Human Resources services     11 11 16 exchanging automatically business documents with customers/suppliers     29 25 12 sending/receiving e-invoices    10 20 21 15 sharing information electronically with customers/suppliers on Supply Chain Manag.     12 16 22 using analytical Customer Relation Manag.    9 14 17 17 
Indicators on the ICT sector, ICT skills and R&D               
ICT sector share of total GDP 4.5 4.5 4.4   5.0 10 
ICT sector share of total employment 3.2 3.1 3.1   2.7 6 ICT R&D expenditure by the business sector, as % of GDP 0.36 0.34    0.31 7 
= = = = =, as % of total R&D expenditure 26.6 25.5    26.4 12 
% of ICT exports on total exports 7.5 7.1 7.2 5.2   15 % of ICT exports on total imports 9.4 8.9 8.9 7.6   18 % of persons employed with ICT user skills. 17.1 16.9 16.9 17.7 17.8 18.4 19 % of persons employed with ICT specialist skills 3.1 3.0 3.3 2.4 2.8 3.0 18 
 
EN 26   EN 10. GERMANY  
Germany is just outside the lead ing countries for information soci ety development with most of 
benchmarking indicators having values around the EU average. However, there is room for 
improvement in the fields of eGovernment (e specially for enterprises) and eBusiness.  
Broadband  
The broadband market has expanded further compar ed to the previous ye ar. The latest figures 
reveal improvements on every indicat or. DSL coverage has increased, particularly in rural areas. 
The broadband penetration rate exceeds the EU average, yielding a 9th rank. Three quarters of all 
households have internet access but only 73% of them use broa dband connections and only half 
of all broadband subscribers acc ess speeds above 2MB/s. On the other hand, the use of wireless 
laptop connections is getting widespread. Significan t progress has also been made in broadband 
connectivity by enterprises, exceeding the EU average rate for the first time.  
Internet Usage 
Germany performs relatively well in terms of rate s of regular and frequent internet users in the 
population. However, it is not one of the most connected. Only 20% of German citizens have 
never used the internet, compared to 33% for th e EU as a whole. Take up of most internet 
services is above the EU average, with the exception of reading online newspapers and doing 
online courses. Germany has the highest rate  of population downloading computer or video 
games or their updates. 
The online availability of public services ex ceeds the EU27 average, for both citizens and 
enterprises. However, take-up by enterprises is lagging in EU comparison. Despite this, use of e-
procurement is average. 
ICTs in the Economy 
Germany shows a mixed picture in the area of eB usiness: for some indicators like the use of 
applications to access Human Resources services, Germany is among the leading countries, while 
for others relating to the inte gration of internal business processes and to supply chain 
management, it scores weakly.  
The indicators on the ICT sector show that Germany is in line with the EU averages.  
 
EN 27   EN Germany 
Description 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 EU27 ranking 
Broadband               
Total DSL coverage (as % of total population) 90.7 92.0 92.6 95.7 96.6 92.7 9 
DSL coverage in rural areas (as % of total population)  55.0 58.5 87.5 89.7 76.6 9 Broadband penetration (as % of population) 8.4 12.8 18.1 23.8 27.5 22.9 9 Speed - % of broadband subscriptions above 2 Mbps  2.1 7.7 32.0 53.6 63.3 17 % of households with an internet connection 60 62 67 71 75 60 5 % of households with a broadband connection 18 23 34 50 55 49 10 % of enterprises with a (fixed) broadband access 54 62 73 80 84 81 12 % of individuals using a mobile phone via UMTS (3G) to access the Internet   1 2 2 3 18 % of indiv. using a laptop via wireless connect. away from home/work to access the inter.    14 18 12 4 
Internet Usage               
% pop. who are regular internet users (using the internet at least once a week) 50 54 59 64 68 56 7 
% pop. who are frequent internet users (using the internet every day or almost every day) 30 34 40 46 51 43 8 
% population who have never used the internet  29 26 23 20 33 7 Take up of internet services (as % of population)        sending emails 51  60 64 67 53 6 
looking for information about goods and services 52  60 63 66 50 6 uploading self-created content     14 11 9 ordering goods or services, over the Internet, for private use 37 42 49 52 53 32 5 reading online newspapers/magazines 15  19 21 21 25 19 selling goods and services (e.g. via auctions) 14  20 21 18 10 3 internet banking 26  32 35 38 29 10 downloading computer or video games or their updates     18 9 1 downloading/listening to/watching music and/or films     29 28 12 paying for online audiovisual contents     5 5 7 listening to the web radio/watching web tv 8  12 15 21 20 12 
seeking health information on injury, disease or nutrition   34 41 41 28 4 
looking for a job or sending a job application 14  17 17 16 13 7 doing an online course    2 2 3 16 seeking information with the purpose of learning    27 28 26 8 
eGovernment Indicators               
% basic public services for citizens fully available online 27  27 64  51 8 
% basic public services for enterprises fully available online 75  75 88  72  % of population using eGovernment services 33  32 43 33 28 9  % of population using eGovernment services for returning filled in forms     10 12 15 % of enterprises using eGovernment services 36 44 49 56 56 68 25  % of enterprises using eGovernment services for returning filled in forms 17 24 37 43 45 50 19  of which to submit a proposal in a public electronic tender system (e-procurement)  13 11 12 10 9 10 
eCommerce               
eCommerce as % of total turnover of enterprises 11 13 14 11  12  
% enterprises selling online 18 16 18 24  16  
% enterprises purchasing online 47 41 48 52  28  
eBusiness: % of enterprises               
using applications for integrating internal business processes (all enterprises)     33 41 22 
using applications for integrating internal business processes (large enterprises)     68 70 20 using applications for employees to access Human Resources services     16 11 11 exchanging automatically business documents with customers/suppliers     35 25 5 sending/receiving e-invoices    19 27 21 7 sharing information electronically with customers/suppliers on Supply Chain Manag.     12 16 21 using analytical Customer Relation Manag.    30 26 17 2 
Indicators on the ICT sector, ICT skills and R&D               
ICT sector share of total GDP 4.8 4.6 4.7   5.0 9 
ICT sector share of total employment 2.5 2.6 2.6   2.7 12 ICT R&D expenditure by the business sector, as % of GDP 0.39 0.38    0.31 6 
= = = = =, as % of total R&D expenditure 22.3 22.3    26.4 17 
% of ICT exports on total exports 10.1 9.6 9.2 7.3   10 % of ICT exports on total imports 11.6 11.3 11.1 9.7   10 % of persons employed with ICT user skills. 19.7 20.2 20.3 19.8 18.3 18.4 17 % of persons employed with ICT specialist skills 3.0 3.2 3.3 3.2 3.1 3.0 9 
 
EN 28   EN 11. GREECE  
Greece has experienced good progress in the area of  broadband over recent years. However, the 
information society in Greece is still lagging behi nd in comparison to general developments in 
the EU. Scores for the eBusiness dimension are around the European average, but for all other 
indicators, there is a serious gap between Greece and the large majority of ot her countries. To fill 
the gap, Greece has been implementing an ambitious 'Digital Strategy 2006-2013'  plan, aiming to 
perform a "Digital Leap to Produc tivity and Quality of life", by leveraging EU Structural Funds. 
The Digital Strategy comprises two main objectiv es: enhanced business pr oductivity through the 
use of ICT; and improved quality of life through ICT. Particular  emphasis has been given to 
increase digital literacy among students and the younger generation through projects to encourage 
access to broadband ( 'Diodos' ), to subsidise the purchase of la ptops of top ranking first year 
students ( 'See your life digitally' ), an education-focu sed initiative (s tarting in 2009 ) to provide 
laptops to school pupils aimed at getting th em acquainted with new technologies early on 
('Digital Classroom' ), and certified training courses for all students ( 'e-ducate' ).  
Broadband 
In comparison to the situation five years ago, Greece's performance in broadband has improved 
significantly thanks to the implementation of the electronic communications regulatory framework and of the "Broadband Action Plan" that used Structural Funds to stimulate 
broadband investments and extend coverage in Greek regions. Total DS L coverage increased 
from 9% (in 2004) to 88% in 2008, DSL coverage in rural areas rose from 0% to 55%, and take 
up reaches 13.4% of the population, up from 0.5%. Despite good progress over 2007, households' 
connectivity remains low and stan ds at only half of the European average. Connectivity of 
enterprises is somewhat better, but still signifi cantly lower than for most EU Member States. 
Mobile broadband is emerging.  
Internet Usage 
In Greece, a third of the population uses the inte rnet regularly, 23% are frequent users and 56% 
have never used the internet. The country also cons istently ranks as one of those with the lowest 
use of various internet services. Most internet users are active in sending emails and looking for 
information on goods and services. Looking up info rmation for the purpose of learning, reading 
online news papers and downloading/listening to/w atching music and/or films are also popular 
activities among Greek internet users.  
The availability of eGovernment services, for citi zens and enterprises, in Greece is below the EU 
average, though it has grown subs tantially in recent years. Take  up of eGovernment services by 
citizens is very low and has not shown much im provement. By contrast, at 78%, take up by 
enterprises is high, 10 p.p. above the EU average.  
ICTs in the Economy  
No significant progress has been made over the years in terms of eCommerce. The situation is far 
more positive for eBusiness, where scores are in line with the European average. Only the use of 
e-invoices is si gnificantly behind.  
Information on the impact of ICTs on the Gr eek economy is limited with no information 
available on size and growth of the ICT sector. Indicators on ICT exports and eSkills have stabilised over time and remain  among the lowest in Europe. 
 
EN 29   EN Greece 
Description 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 EU27 ranking 
Broadband               
Total DSL coverage (as % of total population) 9.0 12.0 18.0 86.3 88.0 92.7 22 
DSL coverage in rural areas (as % of total population)  0.0 10.0 50.0 55.0 76.6 21 Broadband penetration (as % of population) 0.5 1.4 4.4 9.1 13.4 22.9 23 Speed - % of broadband subscriptions above 2 Mbps  0.0 9.7 30.0 43.7 63.3 20 % of households with an internet connection 17 22 23 25 31 60 25 % of households with a broadband connection 0 1 4 7 22 49 25 % of enterprises with a (fixed) broadband access 21 44 58 72 71 81 22 % of individuals using a mobile phone via UMTS (3G) to access the Internet   0 1 1 3 24 % of indiv. using a laptop via wireless connect. away from home/work to access the inter.    1 3 12 24 
Internet Usage               
% pop. who are regular internet users (using the internet at least once a week) 17 18 23 28 33 56 26 
% pop. who are frequent internet users (using the internet every day or almost every day) 9 11 13 19 23 43 25 
% population who have never used the internet  73 65 62 56 33 25 Take up of internet services (as % of population)        sending emails 15 14 17 21 26 53 26 
looking for information about goods and services 14 17 23 28 31 50 24 uploading self-created content     4 11 25 ordering goods or services, over the Internet, for private use 1 2 5 8 9 32 24 reading online newspapers/magazines 11 9 14 16 19 25 22 selling goods and services (e.g. via auctions) 0 1 0   10  internet banking 1 1 2 4 5 29 25 downloading computer or video games or their updates     6 9 24 downloading/listening to/watching music and/or films     19 28 23 paying for online audiovisual contents     2 5 23 listening to the web radio/watching web tv 4 4 5 8 16 20 19 
seeking health information on injury, disease or nutrition 6 2 6 8 10 28 26 
looking for a job or sending a job application 2 2 4 5 5 13 24 doing an online course    2 2 3 21 seeking information with the purpose of learning    5 22 26 15 
eGovernment Indicators               
% basic public services for citizens fully available online 18  17 33  51 18 
% basic public services for enterprises fully available online 50  50 63  72  % of population using eGovernment services 8 7 9 12 10 28 25  % of population using eGovernment services for returning filled in forms     4 12 25 % of enterprises using eGovernment services 77 81 84 82 78 68 11  % of enterprises using eGovernment services for returning filled in forms 45 56 76 77 62 50 9  of which to submit a proposal in a public electronic tender system (e-procurement)  21 11 10 7 9 18 
eCommerce               
eCommerce as % of total turnover of enterprises 2 2 3 2 3 12 16 
% enterprises selling online 6 7 7 6 6 16 19 
% enterprises purchasing online 14 14 11 8 9 28 20 
eBusiness: % of enterprises               
using applications for integrating internal business processes (all enterprises)     42 41 17 
using applications for integrating internal business processes (large enterprises)     71 70 19 using applications for employees to access Human Resources services     14 11 12 exchanging automatically business documents with customers/suppliers     20 25 20 sending/receiving e-invoices    10 13 21 20 sharing information electronically with customers/suppliers on Supply Chain Manag.     20 16 13 using analytical Customer Relation Manag.    15 15 17 12 
Indicators on the ICT sector, ICT skills and R&D               
ICT sector share of total GDP 3.1     5.0  
ICT sector share of total employment 1.5     2.7  ICT R&D expenditure by the business sector, as % of GDP 0.09 0.07    0.31 19 
= = = = =, as % of total R&D expenditure 54.5 36.1    26.4 5 
% of ICT exports on total exports 1.2 1.0 2.1 1.0   27 % of ICT exports on total imports 4.7 4.2 5.1 4.9   27 % of persons employed with ICT user skills. 12.1 12.3 13.0 12.7 12.9 18.4 24 % of persons employed with ICT specialist skills 2.4 2.2 2.1 2.2 2.0 3.0 26 
 
EN 30   EN 12. HUNGARY  
The share of Internet users in Hungary is incr easing and has caught up w ith EU average levels. 
The information society in Hungary however is still lagging behind in comparison with the 
general developments in Europe, with most of  the other benchmarking indicators below the EU 
average. Broadband is widely avai lable, and the strength of the ICT sector with the good eSkills 
base are strategic assets for in this country. Furthermore,  Hungary has launched specific 
programmes and action plans in the areas of eI nclusion and eBusiness, notably the set up of 
public access points for rural and socially disadvantaged, the 'Digital Literacy Action Plan', and the "e-Economy Action Plan" designed to strengthen the digital maturity of SMEs and remove barriers to ICT intr oduction and use.  
Broadband 
DSL coverage in Hungary is above EU average.  Households are increasingly connected to the 
internet. The share of househol ds in the population using broa dband connections has increased 
significantly during 2007 and no wadays 87.5% of connected  households have broadband, 
indicating that Hungary has managed to leap frog slower access technologies. Enterprises' 
connectivity remains below EU average and broa dband penetration remains among the lowest in 
the EU.  
Internet Usage 
Internet use has expanded in Hungary in recent y ears and the percentages of regular and frequent 
internet users are equal to those for the EU averag e. Use of a number of inte rnet services is also 
similar to the EU average. However, for some se rvices, there are larger differences. On the one 
hand, Hungary exhibits an above average percentage of  the population downloading computer or 
video games or their updates and uploading self-c reated content. On the other hand, it has a 
below average proportion of the population buying goods and services online and doing their 
banking over the internet. 
Both the availability and use of eGovernment servic es for the citizens is at the same level as the 
EU average. For enterprises, however, the rate s are lower, especially for availability.  
ICTs in the Economy 
Of all turnover, 12% is generated by eCommerce, a figure equal to the EU average. Nevertheless, 
the share of enterprises selli ng or purchasing online is among th e lowest in Europe. For the 
eBusiness dimension, Hungary persistently shows low rankings, with all indicators giving below 
average scores. 
Despite these difficulties, Hungary has a relatively large ICT sector that represents approximately 
a fifth of its exports, the third highest in the EU, and the percentage of persons employed with 
ICT user skills exceeds the EU average. The ICT sector contributes significantly to the GDP and 
employment as well, ranking 4
th and 3rd for these indicators respectively. ICT-related R&D drives 
more than a quarter of total R&D but R&D e xpenditure as a percentage of GDP remains 
generally low.  
 
EN 31   EN Hungary 
Description 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 EU27 ranking 
Broadband               
Total DSL coverage (as % of total population) 70.0 85.0 89.0 91.0 93.7 92.7 14 
DSL coverage in rural areas (as % of total population)  76.0 77.0 80.0 87.4 76.6 11 Broadband penetration (as % of population) 3.6 6.1 9.9 14.2 16.3 22.9 22 Speed - % of broadband subscriptions above 2 Mbps  2.0 13.4 44.8 33.4 63.3 23 % of households with an internet connection 14 22 32 38 48 60 19 % of households with a broadband connection 6 11 22 33 42 49 17 % of enterprises with a (fixed) broadband access  48 61 70 72 81 21 % of individuals using a mobile phone via UMTS (3G) to access the Internet   1 1 2 3 16 % of indiv. using a laptop via wireless connect. away from home/work to access the inter.    2 4 12 21 
Internet Usage               
% pop. who are regular internet users (using the internet at least once a week) 21 34 42 49 56 56 15 
% pop. who are frequent internet users (using the internet every day or almost every day) 18 20 29 37 43 43 13 
% population who have never used the internet  60 52 46 37 33 16 Take up of internet services (as % of population)        sending emails 20 31 37 47 53 53 13 
looking for information about goods and services 19 25 35 43 49 50 13 uploading self-created content     17 11 6 ordering goods or services, over the Internet, for private use 4 8 7 11 14 32 19 reading online newspapers/magazines 14 18 25 28 33 25 11 selling goods and services (e.g. via auctions) 1 1 3 4 5 10 15 internet banking 3 6 8 12 13 29 22 downloading computer or video games or their updates     13 9 3 downloading/listening to/watching music and/or films     30 28 11 paying for online audiovisual contents     2 5 21 listening to the web radio/watching web tv 3 7 12 16 18 20 16 
seeking health information on injury, disease or nutrition 8 10 17 23 29 28 9 
looking for a job or sending a job application 6 10 12 13 14 13 10 doing an online course    2 2 3 15 seeking information with the purpose of learning    19 22 26 16 
eGovernment Indicators               
% basic public services for citizens fully available online 8  50 50  51 14 
% basic public services for enterprises fully available online 25  50 50  72  % of population using eGovernment services 16 18 17 25 25 28 15  % of population using eGovernment services for returning filled in forms     11 12 14 % of enterprises using eGovernment services 35  45 55 60 68 23  % of enterprises using eGovernment services for returning filled in forms 23  28 44 50 50 16  of which to submit a proposal in a public electronic tender system (e-procurement)   8 8 9 9 13 
eCommerce               
eCommerce as % of total turnover of enterprises  3 7 6 12 12 8 
% enterprises selling online 6 4 9 4 4 16 22 
% enterprises purchasing online 14 5 11 7 7 28 23 
eBusiness: % of enterprises               
using applications for integrating internal business processes (all enterprises)     27 41 25 
using applications for integrating internal business processes (large enterprises)     67 70 21 using applications for employees to access Human Resources services     9 11 19 exchanging automatically business documents with customers/suppliers     19 25 21 sending/receiving e-invoices    4 5 21 27 sharing information electronically with customers/suppliers on Supply Chain Manag.     14 16 18 using analytical Customer Relation Manag.    5 5 17 25 
Indicators on the ICT sector, ICT skills and R&D               
ICT sector share of total GDP 6.7 7.0 6.4   5.0 4 
ICT sector share of total employment 3.9 3.9 3.9   2.7 3 ICT R&D expenditure by the business sector, as % of GDP 0.05 0.05    0.31 20 
= = = = =, as % of total R&D expenditure 12.7 13.1    26.4 23 
% of ICT exports on total exports 23.1 23.4 23.3 21.5   3 % of ICT exports on total imports 20.6 19.1 18.5 18.6   3 % of persons employed with ICT user skills. 20.5 20.5 20.6 20.3 20.9 18.4 7 % of persons employed with ICT specialist skills 2.9 2.7 2.9 2.7 2.9 3.0 14 
 
EN 32   EN 13. IRELAND  
Ireland provides a mixed image of information society developments, with good scores for 
eCommerce and eGovernment services for enterprise s, but also levels of connectivity and usage 
of ICTs by citizens and businesses ve ry close to the EU average. Ireland is developing a 'National 
Knowledge Society Strategy' focused on the deve lopment of its knowledge economy in order to 
help accelerate the development of  knowledge-intensive areas such as: digitally traded services; 
eLearning products and services; and clinical trial infrastructure. Mo re generally the Strategy will 
bring together the various actions and supports which will result in Ireland having the ability to 
develop, produce, licence and export products an d services based on knowledge-intensive ideas.  
Broadband 
In 2007, fixed broadband penetration reached 20.2%  of the population, sli ghtly below the EU27 
average of 22.9%. 49% of broadband subscriptions  exceed the 2MB/s threshold, giving Ireland 
only the 19th place on the speed ranking. 
The take-up of broadband internet by households has been increasing swiftly, but narrowband is 
still relatively widespread (one third of all c onnections). Ireland's rankings for fixed connections 
are average, but the countries ranks high (5th) for wireless laptop connections.  
83% of the enterprises have broadband intern et access, in line with  the EU27 average.  
Internet Usage 
Internet usage by Irish citizens is similar to that  for the EU average: 57%  of the population uses 
the internet on a regular  basis and 46% are frequent users.  The proportion of those who have 
never used the internet is  also around a third. Ta ke up of services, on the other hand, is generally 
lower than for the EU as a whole, except for ordering goods online, which at 36% is somewhat 
larger, and sending emails, which is  equal to, the EU average.  
In the area of eGovernment, Ireland records below average availability of online public services. 
Despite this, take up by citizens is similar to the EU average and take up by enterprises is one of 
the best in Europe, with 91% of enterprises usin g eGovernment services. Ireland is even the most 
advanced country for the take up of e-procurement in the EU. 
ICTs in the Economy 
More than 27% of all Irish exports come from the ICT s ector, the highest share in Europe. 
Moreover, Ireland is one of the leading coun tries for the share of R&D devoted to ICT. 
Surprisingly, on the other hand, the country ranks only 24th for specialist eSkills and the share has 
been slowly declining. This could indicate th at there is an important concentration of e-
knowledge in few, R&D intensive companies. 
The business side of the information society is  better developed. Ireland shows some very good 
ranking for the eBusiness dimension, and it is one of  the frontrunners in Europe in eCommerce .  
 
EN 33   EN Ireland 
Description 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 EU27 ranking 
Broadband               
Total DSL coverage (as % of total population) 71.0 82.3 85.6 89.2 90.5 92.7 20 
DSL coverage in rural areas (as % of total population)  56.5 64.0 73.3 77.0 76.6 18 Broadband penetration (as % of population) 3.4 6.7 12.3 17.4 20.2 22.9 14 Speed - % of broadband subscriptions above 2 Mbps  6.9 17.1 18.4 49.4 63.3 19 % of households with an internet connection 40 47 50 57 63 60 10 % of households with a broadband connection 3 7 13 31 43 49 15 % of enterprises with a (fixed) broadband access 32 48 61 68 83 81 13 % of individuals using a mobile phone via UMTS (3G) to access the Internet   1 3 2 3 17 % of indiv. using a laptop via wireless connect. away from home/work to access the inter.    11 18 12 5 
Internet Usage               
% pop. who are regular internet users (using the internet at least once a week) 27 31 44 51 57 56 13 
% pop. who are frequent internet users (using the internet every day or almost every day) 12 17 25 32 39 43 16 
% population who have never used the internet  55 42 35 32 33 13 Take up of internet services (as % of population)        sending emails 27 31 45 48 53 53 14 
looking for information about goods and services 22 29 42 44 46 50 17 uploading self-created content     8 11 14 ordering goods or services, over the Internet, for private use 14 19 28 33 36 32 10 reading online newspapers/magazines 5 4 8 10 17 25 25 selling goods and services (e.g. via auctions) 1 1 4 3 3 10 19 internet banking 10 13 21 24 28 29 13 downloading computer or video games or their updates     5 9 25 downloading/listening to/watching music and/or films     19 28 21 paying for online audiovisual contents     2 5 20 listening to the web radio/watching web tv 3 4 9 10 13 20 22 
seeking health information on injury, disease or nutrition 6 10 8 12 19 28 20 
looking for a job or sending a job application 3 2 6 7 9 13 17 doing an online course    3 3 3 11 seeking information with the purpose of learning    16 21 26 17 
eGovernment Indicators               
% basic public services for citizens fully available online 30  30 40  51 17 
% basic public services for enterprises fully available online 75  75 63  72  % of population using eGovernment services 14 18 26 32 27 28 14  % of population using eGovernment services for returning filled in forms     18 12 6 % of enterprises using eGovernment services 69 76 84 89 91 68 2  % of enterprises using eGovernment services for returning filled in forms 32 42 56 69 68 50 5  of which to submit a proposal in a public electronic tender system (e-procurement)  14 21 22 26 9 1 
eCommerce               
eCommerce as % of total turnover of enterprises 18 20 17 19 18 12 3 
% enterprises selling online 19 21 23 27 25 16 3 
% enterprises purchasing online 33 41 53 55 54 28 1 
eBusiness: % of enterprises               
using applications for integrating internal business processes (all enterprises)     62 41 2 
using applications for integrating internal business processes (large enterprises)     86 70 3 using applications for employees to access Human Resources services     16 11 10 exchanging automatically business documents with customers/suppliers     23 25 19 sending/receiving e-invoices    26 21 21 14 sharing information electronically with customers/suppliers on Supply Chain Manag.     10 16 24 using analytical Customer Relation Manag.    23 24 17 4 
Indicators on the ICT sector, ICT skills and R&D               
ICT sector share of total GDP      5.0  
ICT sector share of total employment      2.7  ICT R&D expenditure by the business sector, as % of GDP 0.44 0.48    0.31 5 
= = = = =, as % of total R&D expenditure 53.8 58.1    26.4 2 
% of ICT exports on total exports 27.6 27.2 27.0 27.6   1 % of ICT exports on total imports 12.3 12.3 12.1 10.4   9 % of persons employed with ICT user skills. 19.4 18.8 18.9 18.9 19.2 18.4 13 % of persons employed with ICT specialist skills 2.8 2.6 2.5 2.4 2.3 3.0 24 
 
EN 34   EN 14. ITALY  
Italy presents a mixed picture of information so ciety developments. It shows good scores in terms 
of availability of eGovernment services and eBusiness adoption but still lags behind for fixed 
connectivity, eCommerce and the use of the inte rnet by households. An important framework 
initiative has been laun ched in 2008 to enhance public services (the "  new Strategic Plan for 
Innovation of the Italian Government "). The “ Linea Amica ” (friendly line) has been launched at 
the beginning of 2009 to enhance citizens' accessibil ity to public on-line services. Those who are 
not familiar with internet can contact Linea Am ica by calling a toll free number either from a 
fixed line or from a mobile phone. A “Programme  for infrastructural br oadband coverage”, was 
activated by the Government in coordination wi th Italian Regions, to reach 99% of population 
with a broadband connection with speeds betw een 2 and 20 Mb/s by 2012. The programme will 
increase the capacity of access networks, bot h through fixed and wireless technologies.  
Broadband 
Fixed broadband penetration increased in 2008, but is still roughly 4 p.p. below the EU27 
average. Total DSL coverage is high, and the latest figures reveal that this is now the case in rural 
areas too, thanks to significant progress in the past two year s. Almost 70% of broadband 
subscribers access speeds above 2MB/s but the percentage of internet-connected households 
remains one of the lowest in Europe. Although th e figure has doubled in two years, less than one 
in three households has a broadba nd connection. Enterprises' br oadband connectivity on the other 
hand is comparable to the EU average. M obile broadband appears well established.  
Internet Usage 
Only a minority of Italians use the internet on a regular and/or frequent basis and half of the 
population has still never used the in ternet at all. Progress in gett ing more people online has also 
been rather gradual. As such, It aly ranks as one of the least inte rnet active countries in Europe. 
Correspondingly, the take-up of inte rnet services is also weak. The most popular activities are 
also the most common ones undertaken at EU level; namely, sending emails and looking up 
information about goods and services. Italian citi zens are also approachi ng the European average 
in terms of looking up information for the purposes of learning.  
Italy scores relatively well in th e provision of eGovernment services , with 58% of public services 
for citizens and 88% for enterprises available online.  While take up of these services is relatively 
good for enterprises, as with general conn ectivity, take up by citizens is low.  
ICTs in the Economy 
The importance of eCommerce in the Italian economy  is negligible. For eBusiness, the situation 
is far more positive. For most indicators, the EU27 average is exceeded. Only applications for 
employees to access HR services are much rarer th an in other countries. Most enterprises thus 
seem to acknowledge the importance of the Inte rnet as a business tool . The ICT sector is 
comparable to the European average in term s of GDP and employment  contribution. The ICT 
R&D share to total R&D is at EU average, but R& D spending as a whole in Italy is pa rticularly 
low. Finally, the percentage of employees with ICT specialist skills is below average; while ICT 
user skills are at EU average. 
 
EN 35   EN Italy 
Description 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 EU27 ranking 
Broadband               
Total DSL coverage (as % of total population) 85.0 87.0 89.0 94.0 95.3 92.7 11 
DSL coverage in rural areas (as % of total population)  44.6 50.5 81.7 82.0 76.6 15 Broadband penetration (as % of population) 8.0 11.8 14.5 17.1 19.0 22.9 16 Speed - % of broadband subscriptions above 2 Mbps  4.2 4.3 45.2 68.3 63.3 10 % of households with an internet connection 34 39 40 43 47 60 21 % of households with a broadband connection  13 16 25 31 49 24 % of enterprises with a (fixed) broadband access 23 57 70 76 81 81 14 % of individuals using a mobile phone via UMTS (3G) to access the Internet   2 3 3 3 13 % of indiv. using a laptop via wireless connect. away from home/work to access the inter.    7 10 12 13 
Internet Usage               
% pop. who are regular internet users (using the internet at least once a week) 26 28 31 34 37 56 23 
% pop. who are frequent internet users (using the internet every day or almost every day) 24 27 29 31 35 43 19 
% population who have never used the internet  62 59 54 50 33 22 Take up of internet services (as % of population)        sending emails  26 29 31 34 53 23 
looking for information about goods and services  21 23 27 30 50 25 uploading self-created content     7 11 19 ordering goods or services, over the Internet, for private use  6 9 10 11 32 20 reading online newspapers/magazines  13 13 17 17 25 24 selling goods and services (e.g. via auctions)  2 3 4 4 10 18 internet banking  8 9 12 13 29 23 downloading computer or video games or their updates     4 9 27 downloading/listening to/watching music and/or films     15 28 27 paying for online audiovisual contents     0 5 27 listening to the web radio/watching web tv  5 5 8 9 20 26 
seeking health information on injury, disease or nutrition  9 12 16 16 28 22 
looking for a job or sending a job application  5 6 7 7 13 22 doing an online course    2 2 3 17 seeking information with the purpose of learning    21 24 26 12 
eGovernment Indicators               
% basic public services for citizens fully available online 27  36 58  51 9 
% basic public services for enterprises fully available online 88  88 88  72  % of population using eGovernment services  14 16 17 15 28 23  % of population using eGovernment services for returning filled in forms     5 12 22 % of enterprises using eGovernment services 65 73 87 84 82 68 9  % of enterprises using eGovernment services for returning filled in forms 35 29 49 35 42 50 21  of which to submit a proposal in a public electronic tender system (e-procurement)  10 7 7 9 9 12 
eCommerce               
eCommerce as % of total turnover of enterprises 3 2 2 2  12  
% enterprises selling online 7 3 3 2 3 16 24 
% enterprises purchasing online 6 4 10 10 12 28 18 
eBusiness: % of enterprises               
using applications for integrating internal business processes (all enterprises)     49 41 8 
using applications for integrating internal business processes (large enterprises)     82 70 7 using applications for employees to access Human Resources services     6 11 25 exchanging automatically business documents with customers/suppliers     27 25 15 sending/receiving e-invoices    34 29 21 5 sharing information electronically with customers/suppliers on Supply Chain Manag.     21 16 8 using analytical Customer Relation Manag.    15 14 17 13 
Indicators on the ICT sector, ICT skills and R&D               
ICT sector share of total GDP 3.9 3.9 4.0   5.0 12 
ICT sector share of total employment 2.7 2.7 2.6   2.7 11 ICT R&D expenditure by the business sector, as % of GDP 0.13 0.14    0.31 14 
= = = = =, as % of total R&D expenditure 25.2 25.1    26.4 13 
% of ICT exports on total exports 3.9 3.9 3.8 2.6   25 % of ICT exports on total imports 8.0 7.5 6.9 6.1   24 % of persons employed with ICT user skills. 17.6 17.5 18.9 19.4 19.4 18.4 12 % of persons employed with ICT specialist skills 2.8 2.8 2.9 2.8 2.7 3.0 19 
 
EN 36   EN 15. LATVIA  
The information society in Latvia is still lagging behind in comparison with the general 
developments in the EU, although internet user s are actively taking up advanced services. The 
wide dissemination of internet usage in the population and a good skill base are laying the 
foundations for further developments. Several impor tant initiatives have been taken in 2008 to 
boost information society. In particular, the approva l by the Government of a list of high-priority 
projects related to information society and eServices ( education, culture, health care, 
employment, social security etc ) submitted by th e ministries and other institutions subordinated 
to them. Furthermore, the 'Latvian Educational System In formatization Programme for 2007-
2013 ' envisages the establishment of an educationa l information system, te acher training in the 
use of ICT, development of electronic education ma terials, establishment of an interactive portal 
for teachers and parents, computer isation of schools and libraries and a number of other measures 
to improve the quality of education. 
Broadband 
Total DSL coverage in Latvia grew further to reac h 88% of the population,  exceeding the EU 
average. However, broadband covera ge in rural areas remains an issue and broadband penetration 
is still lower than aver age, as is the connectivity of househ olds. With only 62% of enterprises 
having broadband internet a ccess, Latvia is placed at the botto m of the European ranking as well 
(23rd). No significant progress can be observed in  the area of broadband over the last year.  
Internet Usage 
The presence of regular and frequent  internet users in Latvia is comp arable to that for the EU as a 
whole. Take-up of internet services is also generally good. Rates of participation for the more 
popular activities such as sending emails and looking up information about goods and services 
are similar to the EU average and for a number of  other services rates of use are higher. In 
particular, Latvia records part icularly large above average ra tes of the popula tion using the 
internet for reading online newspapers (+18 p.p.), internet banking (+10pp.), uploading self-
created content (+8 p.p.), doing online courses (+ 5 p.p.) and downloading video games (+5 p.p.). 
For a small number of services (seeking inform ation for learning purposes, ordering goods), it 
records relatively low rates of use by its citizens. The take-up of all services, for which there is comparable data, has increased since last year.  
The availability of online public services is ve ry low, both for citizens and for enterprises. 
Subsequently, the use of eGovernment also  lies far below the European average. 
ICTs in the Economy 
eCommerce and eBusiness are not particularly de veloped yet in Latvia. Despite improvements in 
terms of rankings and absolute figures, the th ree indicators of eCommerce remain below the 
EU27 average. In eBusiness dimension, indi cators are at or below EU average.  
Data on the size of the ICT sector are not availabl e and other indicators suggest that ICTs do not 
yet play an important pa rt in the Latvian economy. The percen tage of persons employed with ICT 
user skills is above average, but  ICT specialists score less well. 
 
EN 37   EN Latvia 
Description 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 EU27 ranking 
Broadband               
Total DSL coverage (as % of total population)   72.0 87.0 88.0 92.7 23 
DSL coverage in rural areas (as % of total population)   37.0 65.0 68.0 76.6 20 Broadband penetration (as % of population) 2.4 5.7 10.5 15.0 17.4 22.9 19 Speed - % of broadband subscriptions above 2 Mbps  0.3 7.6 32.6 73.0 63.3 6 % of households with an internet connection 15 31 42 51 53 60 16 % of households with a broadband connection 5 14 23 32 40 49 18 % of enterprises with a (fixed) broadband access 45 48 59 57 62 81 23 % of individuals using a mobile phone via UMTS (3G) to access the Internet   0 1 1 3 20 % of indiv. using a laptop via wireless connect. away from home/work to access the inter.    3 10 12 12 
Internet Usage               
% pop. who are regular internet users (using the internet at least once a week) 27 36 46 52 57 56 14 
% pop. who are frequent internet users (using the internet every day or almost every day) 16 23 31 37 42 43 14 
% population who have never used the internet  51 45 39 34 33 15 Take up of internet services (as % of population)        sending emails 25 33 41 46 49 53 16 
looking for information about goods and services 19 27 36 39 49 50 14 uploading self-created content     19 11 2 ordering goods or services, over the Internet, for private use 3 5 8 11 16 32 18 reading online newspapers/magazines 19 24 27 18 33 25 13 selling goods and services (e.g. via auctions) 1 1 2 2  10  internet banking 12 16 22 28 39 29 9 downloading computer or video games or their updates     13 9 4 downloading/listening to/watching music and/or films     33 28 8 paying for online audiovisual contents     4 5 10 listening to the web radio/watching web tv 9 11 17 20 24 20 9 
seeking health information on injury, disease or nutrition 8 7 12 11 24 28 16 
looking for a job or sending a job application 9 10 11 9 16 13 8 doing an online course    6 8 3 2 seeking information with the purpose of learning    5 13 26 23 
eGovernment Indicators               
% basic public services for citizens fully available online 8  8 25  51 21 
% basic public services for enterprises fully available online 0  13 38  72  % of population using eGovernment services 13 13 25 18 16 28 22  % of population using eGovernment services for returning filled in forms     6 12 20 % of enterprises using eGovernment services 40 35 40 45 55 68 26  % of enterprises using eGovernment services for returning filled in forms 15 15 21 26 39 50 23  of which to submit a proposal in a public electronic tender system (e-procurement)  0 0 6 8 9 16 
eCommerce               
eCommerce as % of total turnover of enterprises  1 1 2 7 12 15 
% enterprises selling online  1 2 2 6 16 20 
% enterprises purchasing online  1 3 5 9 28 21 
eBusiness: % of enterprises               
using applications for integrating internal business processes (all enterprises)     36 41 20 
using applications for integrating internal business processes (large enterprises)     60 70 22 using applications for employees to access Human Resources services     11 11 17 exchanging automatically business documents with customers/suppliers     19 25 22 sending/receiving e-invoices    25 20 21 16 sharing information electronically with customers/suppliers on Supply Chain Manag.     20 16 14 using analytical Customer Relation Manag.    10 9 17 21 
Indicators on the ICT sector, ICT skills and R&D               
ICT sector share of total GDP      5.0  
ICT sector share of total employment 1.6 1.7 1.6   2.7 14 ICT R&D expenditure by the business sector, as % of GDP 0.02 0.02    0.31 25 
= = = = =, as % of total R&D expenditure 12.1 8.4    26.4 24 
% of ICT exports on total exports 3.1 3.4 4.1 4.1   22 % of ICT exports on total imports 6.5 6.7 7.0 7.1   19 % of persons employed with ICT user skills. 17.0 16.6 19.3 21.0 21.3 18.4 6 % of persons employed with ICT specialist skills 3.3 3.5 3.3 3.3 2.7 3.0 20 
 
EN 38   EN 16. LITHUANIA  
Fast progress in internet usag e by individuals and gr owth in eCommerce act ivities are laying the 
foundations for further information. The Strate gy for Information Society Development in 
Lithuania has given priority to  the creation of ICT competence in the population (e-skill) and 
social cohesion (e-Inclusion). The modernization of the public ad ministration through the use of 
ICTs and the protection of  the Lithuanian culture (e-content) are also main objectives of the ICT 
strategy.  
Broadband 
Broadband coverage in rural areas has experienced significant prog ress in recent years. In 2008, 
fixed broadband penetration incr eased to 17.5%, moving 4 places up si nce last year, but still lags 
behind the EU27 average of 23%. Despite progress, the connect ivity of households remains 
below average and the situation is even weaker for enterprises, as Lithuania ranks at the bottom of the list. New mobile connectiv ity usages are not yet developed. 
Internet Usage 
Corresponding to its low level of  connectivity, Internet use by Lithuanian households also 
remains below average. At 43% Lithuania also has an above average pr oportion of the population 
that has never used the intern et. Nevertheless, the share of regular and frequent users has 
increased substantially over th e past four years; from 26 to 50% and from 13 to 38%, 
respectively. 
The take-up of internet services too shows a sh arp increase in comparison to four years ago. For 
some services, Lithuania ranks among the top ten users e.g. reading online newspapers, downloading games, music of films and doing onlin e courses. For other indicators, however, use 
is lower than the average. 
The online availability of public services for citize ns is only half of the EU average, and has not 
increased since 2004. Take up by citizens is below the EU average but is increasing. Availability 
is higher for services for enterprises, though but still below average, and take up by enterprises 
exceeds the EU average by 18pp.  
ICTs in the Economy 
In only 3 other countries more enterprises sell on line than they do in Lit huania, and the country 
ranks 9
th for the share of firms purchasing online. In general, 8% of total turnover in Lithuania 
comes from eCommerce.  
In terms of eBusiness, applications for integrating internal business processes, for HR services or 
for Customer Relation Management  are still rare. On the other hand, ICTs are often used to 
exchange documents, to share information on Supply Chain Management and for e-invoices.  
ICTs have a minimal impact on the Lithuanian ec onomy. R&D investment is very small, as are 
exports of ICT products. User sk ills are widespread among Lit huanian employees, but nowhere 
else in Europe specialist skills are lacking more.  
 
EN 39   EN Lithuania 
Description 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 EU27 ranking 
Broadband               
Total DSL coverage (as % of total population)  82.0 83.0 87.9 88.4 92.7 21 
DSL coverage in rural areas (as % of total population)  54.6 58.0 67.5 68.5 76.6 19 Broadband penetration (as % of population) 3.8 6.8 10.6 13.7 17.5 22.9 18 Speed - % of broadband subscriptions above 2 Mbps  0.7 4.0 14.0 33.3 63.3 24 % of households with an internet connection 12 16 35 44 51 60 18 % of households with a broadband connection 4 12 19 34 43 49 16 % of enterprises with a (fixed) broadband access 50 57 57 53 56 81 26 % of individuals using a mobile phone via UMTS (3G) to access the Internet   0 0 1 3 25 % of indiv. using a laptop via wireless connect. away from home/work to access the inter.    2 3 12 23 
Internet Usage               
% pop. who are regular internet users (using the internet at least once a week) 26 30 38 45 50 56 18 
% pop. who are frequent internet users (using the internet every day or almost every day) 13 16 23 30 38 43 17 
% population who have never used the internet  61 54 49 43 33 19 
Take up of internet services (as % of population)        
sending emails 23 26 32 39 42 53 20 
looking for information about goods and services 15 22 30 36 37 50 20 uploading self-created content     8 11 15 ordering goods or services, over the Internet, for private use 1 2 4 6 6 32 25 reading online newspapers/magazines 21 24 30 32 43 25 5 selling goods and services (e.g. via auctions) 0 1 2 1 1 10 20 internet banking 7 10 15 21 27 29 14 downloading computer or video games or their updates     12 9 6 downloading/listening to/watching music and/or films     32 28 9 paying for online audiovisual contents     3 5 18 listening to the web radio/watching web tv 8 11 17 20 19 20 13 
seeking health information on injury, disease or nutrition  9 15 19 21 28 19 
looking for a job or sending a job application 4 7 9 10 10 13 14 doing an online course    5 4 3 7 seeking information with the purpose of learning    20 20 26 18 
eGovernment Indicators               
% basic public services for citizens fully available online 25  25 25  51 21 
% basic public services for enterprises fully available online 63  63 50  72  % of population using eGovernment services 10 12 13 18 20 28 16  % of population using eGovernment services for returning filled in forms     13 12 10 % of enterprises using eGovernment services 65 72 76 76 86 68 7  % of enterprises using eGovernment services for returning filled in forms 30 52 56 60 75 50 3  of which to submit a proposal in a public electronic tender system (e-procurement)  8 13 16 20 9 2 
eCommerce               
eCommerce as % of total turnover of enterprises 2 2 5 5 8 12 13 
% enterprises selling online 5 6 13 14 22 16 4 
% enterprises purchasing online 13 7 17 18 25 28 9 
eBusiness: % of enterprises               
using applications for integrating internal business processes (all enterprises)     23 41 27 
using applications for integrating internal business processes (large enterprises)     55 70 24 using applications for employees to access Human Resources services     10 11 18 exchanging automatically business documents with customers/suppliers     33 25 9 sending/receiving e-invoices    15 35 21 4 sharing information electronically with customers/suppliers on Supply Chain Manag.     29 16 3 using analytical Customer Relation Manag.    9 8 17 24 
Indicators on the ICT sector, ICT skills and R&D               
ICT sector share of total GDP 3.2 2.8    5.0  
ICT sector share of total employment 1.8 1.8    2.7  ICT R&D expenditure by the business sector, as % of GDP 0.03 0.03    0.31 22 
= = = = =, as % of total R&D expenditure 17.8 20.5    26.4 18 
% of ICT exports on total exports 5.3 4.8 4.4 4.3   21 % of ICT exports on total imports 6.9 6.8 6.4 6.4   20 % of persons employed with ICT user skills. 17.5 18.8 19.4 21.2 23.4 18.4 3 % of persons employed with ICT specialist skills 2.0 1.4 1.4 1.5 1.9 3.0 27 
 
EN 40   EN 17. LUXEMBOURG  
Luxembourg is well advanced in the informati on society, with many benchmarking indicators 
significantly above the EU average, in par ticular in the area of  broadband connectivity, 
households' Internet usage and eSkills endowments. The country is also very active in Green IT: 
all the companies have accepted the challenge and a variety of concrete solutions have been 
deployed to significantly reduce ener gy use in other sector s of the economy and in the society as 
a whole.  
Broadband 
Luxembourg has further improved its broadband pe netration since last year, reaching 28.8% and 
rising 2 places in the EU ranking. There is full DSL coverage and the use of wireless laptop 
connections is the highest in Europe. The good infr astructure is reflected in the percentage of 
households connected to (bro adband) internet (80%).  
Speeds are the only downside in the connectivity  dimension: only one in two broadband 
connections is faster than 2MB/s.  
Internet Usage 
Luxembourg performs well in terms of the proportion of its populati on that are using the internet. 
77% of citizens are regular internet users, most accessing the internet almost every day, and only 16% have never used the internet. Use of various internet services  is also high in comparison to 
other EU Member States; with Luxemburg exhib iting above average use by its citizens of all but 
two activities: looking for a j ob and downloading computer or video games or their updates. 
Luxemburg has the highest proportio n of its population using the internet to look for information 
for the purpose of learning.  
Despite below average availability, the use of eG overnment services by citizens and enterprises is 
one of the highest in Europe.  
ICTs in the Economy 
There are fewer enterprises in Luxembourg selling and purchasing onl ine relative to EU averages. 
eBusiness on the other hand is well developed, wi th rankings ranging from 6th to 14th place.  
No information is available on the size of th e ICT sector in Luxembourg, but exports are 
significant despite a decline si nce 2006. The workforce displays the highest user eSkills and 
second highest specialist eSkills in Europe (an improvement of two places since last year). 
Together with the high connectivity rate and widespread take  up of internet services in the 
general population, this  forms a very good starting point for further information society 
developments.  
 
EN 41   EN Luxembourg 
Description 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 EU27 ranking 
Broadband               
Total DSL coverage (as % of total population) 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 92.7 1 
DSL coverage in rural areas (as % of total population)  100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 76.6 1 Broadband penetration (as % of population) 8.1 15.5 21.5 25.4 28.8 22.9 5 Speed - % of broadband subscriptions above 2 Mbps  7.7 8.1 12.4 53.0 63.3 18 % of households with an internet connection 59 65 70 75 80 60 4 % of households with a broadband connection 16 33 44 58 61 49 6 % of enterprises with a (fixed) broadband access 48 64 76 81 87 81 9 % of individuals using a mobile phone via UMTS (3G) to access the Internet   1 4 4 3 10 % of indiv. using a laptop via wireless connect. away from home/work to access the inter.    31 31 12 1 
Internet Usage               
% pop. who are regular internet users (using the internet at least once a week) 59 63 65 72 77 56 5 
% pop. who are frequent internet users (using the internet every day or almost every day) 36 44 47 56 65 43 5 
% population who have never used the internet  29 27 20 16 33 5 
Take up of internet services (as % of population)        
sending emails 59 63 65 71 74 53 4 
looking for information about goods and services 53 61 64 68 69 50 5 uploading self-created content     15 11 7 ordering goods or services, over the Internet, for private use 40 39 44 47 49 32 7 reading online newspapers/magazines 28 29 29 42 41 25 7 selling goods and services (e.g. via auctions) 5 6 5 12 12 10 8 internet banking 35 37 41 46 48 29 6 downloading computer or video games or their updates     9 9 11 downloading/listening to/watching music and/or films     42 28 2 paying for online audiovisual contents     12 5 3 listening to the web radio/watching web tv 15 19 22 29 36 20 3 
seeking health information on injury, disease or nutrition 41 41 27 48 44 28 3 
looking for a job or sending a job application 11 12 11 14 12 13 13 doing an online course    3 5 3 6 seeking information with the purpose of learning    47 50 26 1 
eGovernment Indicators               
% basic public services for citizens fully available online 8  8 33  51 18 
% basic public services for enterprises fully available online 38  50 50  72  % of population using eGovernment services 45 46 46 52 48 28 4  % of population using eGovernment services for returning filled in forms     16 12 8 % of enterprises using eGovernment services 71  83 85 90 68 4  % of enterprises using eGovernment services for returning filled in forms 26  32 35 41 50 22  of which to submit a proposal in a public electronic tender system (e-procurement)   12 5 7 9 21 
eCommerce               
eCommerce as % of total turnover of enterprises      12  
% enterprises selling online 11 10 11 13 10 16 15 
% enterprises purchasing online 34 22 30 34 23 28 10 
eBusiness: % of enterprises               
using applications for integrating internal business processes (all enterprises)     49 41 11 
using applications for integrating internal business processes (large enterprises)     79 70 12 using applications for employees to access Human Resources services     13 11 14 exchanging automatically business documents with customers/suppliers     35 25 6 sending/receiving e-invoices    23 24 21 12 sharing information electronically with customers/suppliers on Supply Chain Manag.     23 16 6 using analytical Customer Relation Manag.    13 17 17 9 
Indicators on the ICT sector, ICT skills and R&D               
ICT sector share of total GDP      5.0  
ICT sector share of total employment      2.7  ICT R&D expenditure by the business sector, as % of GDP 0.12 0.11    0.31 16 
= = = = =, as % of total R&D expenditure 8.3 8.0    26.4 25 
% of ICT exports on total exports 15.9 18.2 17.8 12.0   8 % of ICT exports on total imports 14.2 15.4 17.4 11.8   7 % of persons employed with ICT user skills. 27.0 27.5 27.2 27.7 29.1 18.4 1 % of persons employed with ICT specialist skills 3.6 3.5 3.2 3.4 5.0 3.0 2 
 
EN 42   EN 18. MALTA  
Malta performs well in the fields of eCommerc e, eBusiness and the provision of eGovernment 
services, and displays a relativ ely high proportion of eSkills am ong employees. However, it is 
lagging in terms of regular use of the internet and the take up of many internet services. ICT 
exports are very important for the economy. This is an indication of the economic importance of 
the information society in this country. Ev en more impetus is expected from the 'Smart Island 
National ICT Strategy 2008-2010 ' which sets a vision for the country  to become one of the top 10 
information societies in the world. The strategic plan prepares Malta for the next generation of 
technology by laying the foundations for a world cl ass inclusive infrastructure; developing a 
smart workforce; using IST to improve quality of life; re-inventing government and enhancing 
the productivity of the private se ctor and its competitiveness. 
Broadband 
After a stall in broadband growth in 2006, ther e was a substantial increase in 2007 and 2008. 
Broadband penetration now st ands at 24% of population.  This gives Malta the 11th place in 
Europe, up five places since last year. There al so is virtually complete DSL and cable modem 
networks coverage, while mobile connectiv ity methods are not yet fully exploited.  
55% of Maltese households (or 93 % of those connected to the in ternet) have broadband access. 
For the enterprises, this figur e is at 89%. Broadband speeds how ever are among the lowest in 
Europe and this is a consequence of in terconnection issues to the main land.  
Internet Usage 
While internet use has been growing among the popul ation, Malta is placed in the bottom third of 
EU Member States with respect to rates of regular and frequent internet users and almost half of the population has never used the internet. The take up of internet services is also generally below 
the EU average; with the excep tion of downloading computer and/ or video games, reading online 
newspapers, downloading/listeningto/watching music and/or films and listening to web 
radio/watching web TV, for which use is slightly above the average.  
Malta performs very well in te rms of the provision online public services; with 92% of public 
services for citizens and 100% of pub lic services for enterprises ava ilable online. In terms of take 
up, however, it performs less well.  While an above average propor tion of enterprises use online 
pubic services (74%, compared to an EU averag e of 68%), use by citizen s is relatively low.  
ICTs in the Economy 
Malta's position is strong in eCommerce and eBus iness. No other EU Member States features 
such a high share of enterprise s' turnover from eCommerce. And all the eBusiness indicators are 
above the EU average.  
The latest figures indicate that the Maltese bus iness sector tripled its R&D expenditure in ICT 
between 2004 and 2005. ICT R&D e xpenditure relative to GDP rema ins lower than average, but 
one third (compared to 11% in the previous yea r) of all R&D spending goes to the ICT sector, 
resulting in a steep increase of Malta's ranking (from 23
rd to 8th position), mainly led by the 
presence of the semiconductors industry. In 2006, Malta had the high est proportion of ICT 
exports in total exports in the EU. ICT plays an important role in the Maltese economy, as also 
underlined by strong eSkills, both at user and specialist levels, in the workforce. 
 
EN 43   EN Malta 
Description 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 EU27 ranking 
Broadband               
Total DSL coverage (as % of total population) 95.0 99.0 99.0 99.0 99.0 92.7 6 
DSL coverage in rural areas (as % of total population)      76.6  Broadband penetration (as % of population) 9.4 12.7 12.5 16.9 23.9 22.9 11 Speed - % of broadband subscriptions above 2 Mbps  0.0 59.6 29.0 21.2 63.3 25 % of households with an internet connection  41 53 54 59 60 12 % of households with a broadband connection  23 41 44 55 49 9 % of enterprises with a (fixed) broadband access  78 83 89 89 81 6 % of individuals using a mobile phone via UMTS (3G) to access the Internet   0 0 2 3 14 % of indiv. using a laptop via wireless connect. away from home/work to access the inter.    4 4 12 20 
Internet Usage               
% pop. who are regular internet users (using the internet at least once a week)  34 36 43 46 56 20 
% pop. who are frequent internet users (using the internet every day or almost every day)  25 26 34 36 43 18 
% population who have never used the internet  57 58 51 49 33 21 
Take up of internet services (as % of population)        
sending emails  32 31 40 43 53 19 
looking for information about goods and services  27 26 34 42 50 19 uploading self-created content     5 11 23 ordering goods or services, over the Internet, for private use  14 14 20 22 32 13 reading online newspapers/magazines  14 17 20 27 25 15 selling goods and services (e.g. via auctions)  1 3 7 5 10 14 internet banking  16 16 22 25 29 15 downloading computer or video games or their updates     12 9 5 downloading/listening to/watching music and/or films     29 28 13 paying for online audiovisual contents     3 5 15 listening to the web radio/watching web tv  8 10 14 21 20 11 
seeking health information on injury, disease or nutrition  16 18 20 23 28 17 
looking for a job or sending a job application  5 8 10 10 13 15 doing an online course    3 2 3 18 seeking information with the purpose of learning    21 23 26 13 
eGovernment Indicators               
% basic public services for citizens fully available online 33  83 92  51 2 
% basic public services for enterprises fully available online 50  63 100  72  % of population using eGovernment services  19 17 25 20 28 17  % of population using eGovernment services for returning filled in forms     7 12 18 % of enterprises using eGovernment services  68 67 77 74 68 15  % of enterprises using eGovernment services for returning filled in forms  45 35 49 46 50 17  of which to submit a proposal in a public electronic tender system (e-procurement)  7 9 11 7 9 19 
eCommerce               
eCommerce as % of total turnover of enterprises     22 12 1 
% enterprises selling online  16 14 16 13 16 12 
% enterprises purchasing online  33 25 27 13 28 17 
eBusiness: % of enterprises               
using applications for integrating internal business processes (all enterprises)     58 41 5 
using applications for integrating internal business processes (large enterprises)     72 70 17 using applications for employees to access Human Resources services     19 11 4 exchanging automatically business documents with customers/suppliers     28 25 14 sending/receiving e-invoices    24 25 21 10 sharing information electronically with customers/suppliers on Supply Chain Manag.     19 16 15 using analytical Customer Relation Manag.    22 19 17 8 
Indicators on the ICT sector, ICT skills and R&D               
ICT sector share of total GDP      5.0  
ICT sector share of total employment      2.7  ICT R&D expenditure by the business sector, as % of GDP 0.04 0.14    0.31 15 
= = = = =, as % of total R&D expenditure 11.2 33.4    26.4 8 
% of ICT exports on total exports 32.4 26.7 27.3 23.5   2 % of ICT exports on total imports 26.5 22.4 22.7 18.7   2 % of persons employed with ICT user skills. 20.5 20.5 20.8 21.2 22.4 18.4 5 % of persons employed with ICT specialist skills 4.1 3.4 2.9 3.4 3.4 3.0 7 
 
EN 44   EN 19. THE NETHERLANDS  
The Netherlands is among the best performing IC T countries in Europe, leading the way in a 
broad range of information society developments . The connectivity of households is the highest 
in Europe and the take-up of internet services is  widespread. There is still room for improvement 
however in the area of eGovernment despite wort hwhile progress has been  made in 2008, driven 
by the implementation of Citizen Service Numbers and the widespread use of DigiD. In Spring 
2008, the national ICT agenda 2008-2011 was publishe d, formulating the cabinet's objectives 
around five priority areas: eSkills, eGovernment, interoperability and st andards, ICT and public 
domains, and services  innovation and ICT. 
Broadband 
The Netherlands is one of the world's leaders in the broadband ranking and now stands in second 
place in the EU with 36.2% (one place up since last year). Speeds are generally high and 
coverage virtually complete. Nowhere else in  Europe a higher proportion of households is 
connected to the internet, and broadband households' connectivity is only higher in Denmark. For 
the mobile connectivity methods, the count ry scores above average as well.  
With 86% of the Dutch enterprises having broadb and access, the EU average is exceeded by 5%. 
However, there has been no progress since last year, resulting in a loss of four places on the EU ranking.  
Internet Usage 
Good connectivity had translated in to high shares of internet us ers in the population and growth 
in the use of advanced services. 83% of Dutch citizens are accessing the Internet at least weekly, 
while 67% are doing so almost daily, well above the EU27 av erage. Furthermore, only 11% of 
the population has never used the internet, as co mpared to 33% for the EU. The Netherlands is 
also leading the way in the take-up of internet services, with well above average rates of use for 
all but one of the indicators: seeking information for the purpose of learning. 
The Netherlands ranks first in terms of the take  up of eGovernment services by its citizens and 
second in terms of take up by enterprises, despite an only slightly better than average provision of 
online public services.  
ICTs in the Economy 
The three indicators measuring eCommerce adopti on by enterprises all reve al scores exceeding 
the EU27 average, resulting in top-5 rankings. eBusiness is widely taken up by enterprises, 
although there is scope for improvement in the el ectronic sharing of information with customers 
and suppliers. 
Data on the size of the ICT sector  are not available, but the ICT export sect or appears important. 
The eSkills base is above average. 
 
EN 45   EN The Netherlands 
Description 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 EU27 ranking 
Broadband               
Total DSL coverage (as % of total population) 99.0 99.0 99.0 99.0 99.0 92.7 6 
DSL coverage in rural areas (as % of total population)  99.0 99.0 99.0 99.0 76.6 6 Broadband penetration (as % of population) 18.9 25.2 31.8 34.2 36.2 22.9 2 Speed - % of broadband subscriptions above 2 Mbps  39.1 46.6 63.3 72.9 63.3 7 % of households with an internet connection  78 80 83 86 60 1 % of households with a broadband connection  54 66 74 74 49 2 % of enterprises with a (fixed) broadband access 54 71 82 87 86 81 10 % of individuals using a mobile phone via UMTS (3G) to access the Internet   1 4 4 3 8 % of indiv. using a laptop via wireless connect. away from home/work to access the inter.    12 16 12 7 
Internet Usage               
% pop. who are regular internet users (using the internet at least once a week)  74 76 81 83 56 2 
% pop. who are frequent internet users (using the internet every day or almost every day)  53 61 66 67 43 3 
% population who have never used the internet  18 16 13 11 33 2 
Take up of internet services (as % of population)        
sending emails  73 76 79 82 53 1 
looking for information about goods and services  70 73 76 76 50 1 uploading self-created content     19 11 3 ordering goods or services, over the Internet, for private use  43 48 55 56 32 3 reading online newspapers/magazines  29 36 40 43 25 6 selling goods and services (e.g. via auctions)  14 18 20 25 10 1 internet banking  50 59 65 69 29 2 downloading computer or video games or their updates     15 9 2 downloading/listening to/watching music and/or films     46 28 1 paying for online audiovisual contents     7 5 6 listening to the web radio/watching web tv  20 28 35 32 20 5 
seeking health information on injury, disease or nutrition  41 45 45 46 28 2 
looking for a job or sending a job application  16 19 19 17 13 6 doing an online course    3 4 3 8 seeking information with the purpose of learning    14 15 26 21 
eGovernment Indicators               
% basic public services for citizens fully available online 18  36 55  51 13 
% basic public services for enterprises fully available online 50  75 75  72  % of population using eGovernment services  46 52 55 54 28 1  % of population using eGovernment services for returning filled in forms     32 12 1 % of enterprises using eGovernment services 47 57 70 81 85 68 8  % of enterprises using eGovernment services for returning filled in forms 27 44 61 73 75 50 2  of which to submit a proposal in a public electronic tender system (e-procurement)   5 6 6 9 24 
eCommerce               
eCommerce as % of total turnover of enterprises     14 12 5 
% enterprises selling online 17 14 23 26 27 16 2 
% enterprises purchasing online 22 20 32 36 40 28 4 
eBusiness: % of enterprises               
using applications for integrating internal business processes (all enterprises)     72 41 1 
using applications for integrating internal business processes (large enterprises)     84 70 6 using applications for employees to access Human Resources services     19 11 5 exchanging automatically business documents with customers/suppliers     34 25 8 sending/receiving e-invoices    11 29 21 6 sharing information electronically with customers/suppliers on Supply Chain Manag.     13 16 19 using analytical Customer Relation Manag.    14 20 17 6 
Indicators on the ICT sector, ICT skills and R&D               
ICT sector share of total GDP      5.0  
ICT sector share of total employment      2.7  ICT R&D expenditure by the business sector, as % of GDP 0.33 0.32    0.31 8 
= = = = =, as % of total R&D expenditure 32.6 32.1    26.4 9 
% of ICT exports on total exports 18.2 19.9 19.0 18.4   4 % of ICT exports on total imports 19.7 21.2 19.7 19.4   1 % of persons employed with ICT user skills. 21.2 20.2 20.9 20.7 20.0 18.4 10 % of persons employed with ICT specialist skills 4.2 4.2 3.8 3.9 4.0 3.0 6 
 
EN 46   EN 20. POLAND  
The information society in Poland is still only developing slowly and in two thirds of all 
benchmarking indicators Poland is close to the bottom of the EU ranking. Poland is however 
taking active steps through a natio nal ICT strategy, the 'Compute rization Plan for Poland in 2007-
2010' and a new one was adopted in December  2008 for the period up to 2013: 'Strategy for 
Information Society Development till 2013'. Th e two strategies are principally aimed at 
counteracting digital exclusion for low-income citi zens and at widening access to the Internet for 
micro, small and medium entrepreneurs. The form er plan aims at deve loping data communication 
systems used to carry out public tasks, while th e latter focuses on the us e of ICT for accelerating 
the growth of intellectual and social capital of citizens, for increasing productivity and competitiveness of Polish companies and for improving the effectiveness of the public administration.  
Broadband 
Broadband penetration by population in Poland st ood at 13.6% in 2008. It went up by almost 
60% since last year, but is still one of the lowe st in EU27. DSL coverage at the national level and 
in rural areas is widely below the EU average.  It is therefore no surprise that broadband 
connectivity for both households and enterprises is at a low level, with Poland ranking 20
th and 
25th respectively.  
Internet Usage 
While they have grown steadily over the past few years, rates of re gular and frequent internet in 
Poland are still relatively low compared to the EU average. Furthermore, there are as many 
people (44%) never having used th e internet as there are regular  users. Correspondingly, rates of 
usage of internet services are also relatively lo w in EU comparison, with the exception of seeking 
information with the purpose of learning. 
Similar conclusions hold for the take-up of eGove rnment services. With availability of public 
services far below the European average, take-u p by citizens is low, while use by businesses has 
reached EU average levels.  
ICTs in the Economy 
Investment in ICT R&D is very small, but progress in terms of ICT exports (in terms of ranking) 
confirms an important role  for the Polish economy in the manufacturing of ICT goods.  
ICT take-up by businesses, reflected by eCommerce and eBusiness indicators, is still at a low 
level. The share of turnover gene rated through eCommerce is a quart er lower than on average in 
Europe, while the proportion of ente rprises selling online is only half of the average figure.  
The automatic exchange of business documents, however, slightly exceeds the EU average and, 
together with eGovernment take-up, is a promis e for progress in the further development of the 
information society.  
 
EN 47   EN Poland 
Description 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 EU27 ranking 
Broadband               
Total DSL coverage (as % of total population) 55.2 62.3 67.1 64.0 69.6 92.7 26 
DSL coverage in rural areas (as % of total population)  51.9 54.8 42.5 42.5 76.6 23 Broadband penetration (as % of population) 1.4 2.7 5.2 8.4 13.2 22.9 24 Speed - % of broadband subscriptions above 2 Mbps  0.0 3.3 8.0 13.6 63.3 26 % of households with an internet connection 26 30 36 41 48 60 20 % of households with a broadband connection 8 16 22 30 38 49 20 % of enterprises with a (fixed) broadband access 28 43 46 53 59 81 25 % of individuals using a mobile phone via UMTS (3G) to access the Internet   0 1 1 3 21 % of indiv. using a laptop via wireless connect. away from home/work to access the inter.    3 6 12 19 
Internet Usage               
% pop. who are regular internet users (using the internet at least once a week) 22 29 34 39 44 56 21 
% pop. who are frequent internet users (using the internet every day or almost every day) 12 17 22 27 32 43 21 
% population who have never used the internet  58 52 48 44 33 20 
Take up of internet services (as % of population)        
sending emails 19 24 27 32 38 53 21 
looking for information about goods and services 15 18 25 27 33 50 22 uploading self-created content     7 11 17 ordering goods or services, over the Internet, for private use 5 7 12 16 18 32 16 reading online newspapers/magazines 14 13 16 15 19 25 23 selling goods and services (e.g. via auctions) 1 1 5 5 7 10 12 internet banking 4 6 9 13 17 29 19 downloading computer or video games or their updates     7 9 18 downloading/listening to/watching music and/or films     21 28 18 paying for online audiovisual contents     2 5 22 listening to the web radio/watching web tv 6 6 10 13 18 20 15 
seeking health information on injury, disease or nutrition 5 7 11 13 19 28 21 
looking for a job or sending a job application 5 5 7 7 8 13 19 doing an online course     2 3 22 seeking information with the purpose of learning    19 28 26 9 
eGovernment Indicators               
% basic public services for citizens fully available online   8 17  51 25 
% basic public services for enterprises fully available online 25  38 38  72  % of population using eGovernment services 13 13  15 16 28 19  % of population using eGovernment services for returning filled in forms     5 12 23 % of enterprises using eGovernment services 74 64 61 64 68 68 19  % of enterprises using eGovernment services for returning filled in forms 68 60 56 56 60 50 11  of which to submit a proposal in a public electronic tender system (e-procurement)  6 7 8 6 9 23 
eCommerce               
eCommerce as % of total turnover of enterprises 3 4 6 6 9 12 11 
% enterprises selling online 4 5 9 9 8 16 17 
% enterprises purchasing online 9 9 16 13 11 28 19 
eBusiness: % of enterprises               
using applications for integrating internal business processes (all enterprises)     24 41 26 
using applications for integrating internal business processes (large enterprises)     58 70 23 using applications for employees to access Human Resources services     8 11 22 exchanging automatically business documents with customers/suppliers     26 25 17 sending/receiving e-invoices    8 11 21 22 sharing information electronically with customers/suppliers on Supply Chain Manag.     14 16 17 using analytical Customer Relation Manag.    12 12 17 19 
Indicators on the ICT sector, ICT skills and R&D               
ICT sector share of total GDP      5.0  
ICT sector share of total employment      2.7  ICT R&D expenditure by the business sector, as % of GDP 0.02 0.03    0.31 23 
= = = = =, as % of total R&D expenditure 11.5 14.7    26.4 21 
% of ICT exports on total exports 4.1 4.2 5.1 5.7   13 % of ICT exports on total imports 8.4 8.8 9.2 9.1   11 % of persons employed with ICT user skills. 15.1 14.7 15.1 15.1 15.4 18.4 23 % of persons employed with ICT specialist skills 2.8 2.8 2.8 2.8 2.9 3.0 15 
 
EN 48   EN 21. PORTUGAL  
Portugal has a fairly strong pos ition in the information soci ety as far as eBusiness and 
eCommerce are concerned. It is also one of th e leading countries in terms of eGovernment 
availability. The country is lagging behind in eSk ills and in households' connectivity, but mobile 
broadband penetration has had a strong development. The 'Connecting Portugal' programme 
launched in 2005 aims at improving the spread of the information society. Priority is given to 
increase the ICT capacity of th e scientific community (eScienc e) and of basic and secondary 
schools and students through the Tec hnological Plan for Education. In  eScience, this includes the 
development of a high performance network for rese arch and education, digita l scientific libraries 
(including the provision of online access to scie ntific publications by research and higher 
education institutions), open access scientific repositories and the National Grid Computing Initiative. Regarding basic and secondary educa tion, all the 1st to 12th  grade public schools are 
connected to broadband since January 2006, and in 2007 pioneering programs were launched to 
facilitate de acquisition of laptops w ith broadband connections to students. 
Broadband 
As fixed broadband penetration only  increased very little, Portugal fell from 17th to 21st place. 
However, mobile broadband connectivity is hi gher than the EU average (ranking 3rd) and the 
speed of the subscribed fixed broadband is co mparatively high (4th in connections above 10 
Mbps, and 3rd for connections above 2 Mps). Despite high coverage and speeds, household's 
connectivity and fixed broadband connectivity is far below average (rankings 22nd and 19th 
respectively). The situation is more positive for enterprises' broadband connectivity, with a score 
equal to the EU average.    
Internet Usage 
Portugal is one of the countries wi th the lowest rates of regular a nd frequent intern et users, and 
has a high share of the population who have never used the internet. Subsequently, usage of 
online services is also relatively low. The main ex ception to this is for the use of internet with the 
purpose of learning, which at 33% of the populati on is well above the EU average of 26%.  
Portugal is one of the best EU Me mber States in terms of the provision of online public services. 
83% of public services for citizens are availabl e online, exceeding the EU average of 51%, and 
100% of services for enterprises are available on line. While enterprises are actively exploiting the 
new opportunities well above EU average, including in the area of e-proc urement, take-up by 
citizens remains more limited. 
ICTs in the Economy 
Portugal scores well in eCommerce and eBusine ss. The contribution of  eCommerce to total 
turnover is equal to the EU average, while s lightly more Portuguese companies sell and fewer 
purchase online. Portugal is am ong the leading countries for enterprises' implementation of 
eBusiness applications, with  almost every indicator exceeding the EU average. 
The ICT sector as a whole does not play a majo r role in the Portuguese economy. Investment in 
R&D is very small, as are exports of ICT produc ts. Its contribution to GDP and employment is 
below average too. Although  some evidence suggest s that the situation may have improved in 
the last years, fully comparable data are not ye t available. Finally, the country is underachieving 
in terms of eSkills, for which it worsened its ranking over the last year.  
 
EN 49   EN Portugal 
Description 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 EU27 ranking 
Broadband               
Total DSL coverage (as % of total population) 92.0 92.6 94.0 95.0 95.0 92.7 12 
DSL coverage in rural areas (as % of total population)  79.0 84.0 86.0 86.0 76.6 12 Broadband penetration (as % of population) 8.1 11.6 13.9 16.1 16.5 22,9 21 Speed - % of broadband subscriptions above 2 Mbps  16.2 43.0 54.9 85.1 63.3 3 % of households with an internet connection 26 31 35 40 46 60 22 % of households with a broadband connection 12 20 24 30 39 49 19 % of enterprises with a (fixed) broadband access 49 63 66 76 81 81 15 % of individuals using a mobile phone via UMTS (3G) to access the Internet   1 3 5 3 7 % of indiv. using a laptop via wireless connect. away from home/work to access the inter.    8 16 12 8 
Internet Usage               
% pop. who are regular internet users (using the internet at least once a week) 25 28 31 35 38 56 22 
% pop. who are frequent internet users (using the internet every day or almost every day) 16 19 22 27 29 43 23 % population who have never used the internet  63 60 56 54 33 24 
Take up of internet services (as % of population)        
sending emails 24 26 29 33 36 53 22 
looking for information about goods and services 23 26 30 33 34 50 21 uploading self-created content     7 11 18 ordering goods or services, over the Internet, for private use 5 6 7 9 10 32 22 reading online newspapers/magazines 15 16 16 15 20 25 21 selling goods and services (e.g. via auctions) 1 1 1   10  internet banking 8 8 10 12 14 29 21 downloading computer or video games or their updates     7 9 16 downloading/listening to/watching music and/or films     19 28 24 paying for online audiovisual contents     2 5 19 listening to the web radio/watching web tv 8 9 11 14 17 20 17 seeking health information on injury, disease or nutrition  10 14 18 22 28 18 looking for a job or sending a job application 3 4 5 6 8 13 21 
doing an online course    1 2 3 19 
seeking information with the purpose of learning    26 33 26 5 
eGovernment Indicators               
% basic public services for citizens fully available online 25  42 83  51 5 
% basic public services for enterprises fully available online 63  88 100  72  % of population using eGovernment services 13 14 17 19 18 28 18  % of population using eGovernment services for returning filled in forms     13 12 11 % of enterprises using eGovernment services 57 58 60 72 75 68 14  % of enterprises using eGovernment services for returning filled in forms 50 52 54 66 68 50 6  of which to submit a proposal in a public electronic tender system (e-procurement)  6 10 9 14 9 4 
eCommerce               
eCommerce as % of total turnover of enterprises 5  8 7 12 12 10 
% enterprises selling online 6 9 7 9 19 16 7 % enterprises purchasing online 8 12 14 12 20 28 11 
eBusiness: % of enterprises               
using applications for integrating internal business processes (all enterprises)     53 41 7 
using applications for integrating internal business processes (large enterprises)     82 70 8 using applications for employees to access Human Resources services     21 11 3 exchanging automatically business documents with customers/suppliers     39 25 2 sending/receiving e-invoices    14 24 21 11 sharing information electronically with customers/suppliers on Supply Chain Manag.     31 16 2 using analytical Customer Relation Manag.    15 16 17 11 
Indicators on the ICT sector, ICT skills and R&D               
ICT sector share of total GDP  4.0    5.0  
ICT sector share of total employment  1.4    2.7  ICT R&D expenditure by the business sector, as % of GDP 0.07 0.08    0.31 18 = = = = =, as % of total R&D expenditure 23.9 26.0    26.4 11 % of ICT exports on total exports 6.9 7.4 7.9 7.3   11 
% of ICT exports on total imports 8.6 9.0 9.1 9.1   12 
% of persons employed with ICT user skills. 13.4 12.6 12.2 11.5 11.8 18.4 26 % of persons employed with ICT specialist skills 2.1 2.3 2.7 2.8 2.7 3.0 21 
 
EN 50   EN 22. ROMANIA  
The information society is at early stages of de velopment in Romania. The use of eProcurement, 
an important development for this country, is pr ogressing at a good pace (the number of auctions 
in the Electronic System of Public Acquisitions (SEAP - www.e-licitatie.ro ) grew from under 2% 
to over 12%). In November 2008 the Agency for Information Society Services (ASSI)  published 
its eGovernment strategy which aims at improvi ng the performance of the public administration 
at the service of citizens. This is complement ed by several initiatives: recently, the e-Romania 
Portal was launched, offering onlin e administrative services for ci tizens and companies. It aims, 
inter alia, to cut administrative costs between  30% and 70% by the end of 2009. Secondly, there 
is the  eStore  Portal for the promotion of electronic commerce and the business networks. And 
finally, initiatives were started aiming at enhancing digital incl usion to reduce the rural-urban 
digital divide, stimulate the use of ICTs in school s as well as facilitating the interaction between 
citizens and administration.  
Broadband 
Broadband penetration is growing slowly and now stands 11.7%, the third lowest in the EU. In 
order to solve this problem, the Romanian Go vernment has launched the National Strategy for 
Broadband Development, with the aim of achievi ng an increase in the penetration rate at 
household level to 40% by 2010 and up to 80% by 2015. Broadband coverage is still limited, 
translating into low take-up of  broadband by both households and enterprises. On the positive 
side, almost 80% of all broadband subscriptions  are fast (+2MB/s), s uggesting good basis for 
future leapfrogging of traditional broadband access.  Still, only one third of households had an 
internet connection. 
Internet Usage 
Low connectivity is reflected in rates of internet  usage. Despite a gradual increase over the past 
few years, Romania records the lowest rates of re gular and frequent internet use in the EU. In 
addition, a majority of Romanian citizens (64%) have  never used the internet . On the whole, most 
internet services are used to a significan tly lesser degree than on average in the EU.  
Similar conclusions can be  drawn for eGovernment. Take up by citizens and enterprises is one of 
the weakest in Europe. Having said this, availabi lity of online public se rvices for enterprises 
exceeds the EU27 average, as doe s use of e-procurement.  
ICTs in the Economy 
Levels of eCommerce and eBusine ss are still low. The eSkills ba se is also relatively weak.  
The ICT industry is nevertheless important for the Romanian econom y and it is highly prioritised 
by the Government: although it contri butes little to total GDP (3.6 %) and employment (1.5%), it 
is responsible for 5.3% of total exports.  
 
EN 51   EN Romania 
Description 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 EU27 ranking 
Broadband               
Total DSL coverage (as % of total population)     67.6 92.7 27 
DSL coverage in rural areas (as % of total population)    0.0 34.0 76.6 24 Broadband penetration (as % of population)   5.0 9.8 11.7 22.9 25 Speed - % of broadband subscriptions above 2 Mbps    33.3 79.1 63.3 5 % of households with an internet connection 6  14 22 30 60 26 % of households with a broadband connection   5 8 13 49 27 % of enterprises with a (fixed) broadband access 7  31 37 44 81 27 % of individuals using a mobile phone via UMTS (3G) to access the Internet   0 0 1 3 27 % of indiv. using a laptop via wireless connect. away from home/work to access the inter.    1 2 12 25 
Internet Usage               
% pop. who are regular internet users (using the internet at least once a week) 10  18 22 26 56 27 
% pop. who are frequent internet users (using the internet every day or almost every day) 4  9 12 15 43 27 
% population who have never used the internet   74 69 64 33 27 
Take up of internet services (as % of population)        
sending emails 10  16 20 24 53 27 
looking for information about goods and services 5  10 12 17 50 27 uploading self-created content     5 11 22 ordering goods or services, over the Internet, for private use 0  1 3 4 32 26 reading online newspapers/magazines 3  7 9 14 25 27 selling goods and services (e.g. via auctions) 0  0 1 1 10 23 internet banking 0  1 2 2 29 26 downloading computer or video games or their updates     8 9 14 downloading/listening to/watching music and/or films     16 28 26 paying for online audiovisual contents     4 5 11 listening to the web radio/watching web tv 2  4 6 7 20 27 
seeking health information on injury, disease or nutrition   5 6 11 28 25 
looking for a job or sending a job application 1  3 3 3 13 27 doing an online course    1 1 3 23 seeking information with the purpose of learning    8 11 26 25 
eGovernment Indicators               
% basic public services for citizens fully available online    8  51 27 
% basic public services for enterprises fully available online    75  72  % of population using eGovernment services   3 5 9 28 26  % of population using eGovernment services for returning filled in forms     3 12 27 % of enterprises using eGovernment services 31  39 42 39 68 27  % of enterprises using eGovernment services for returning filled in forms 12  13 20 23 50 25  of which to submit a proposal in a public electronic tender system (e-procurement)   6 8 10 9 9 
eCommerce               
eCommerce as % of total turnover of enterprises   1 2 2 12 17 
% enterprises selling online   2 3 3 16 23 
% enterprises purchasing online    8 4 28 24 
eBusiness: % of enterprises               
using applications for integrating internal business processes (all enterprises)     28 41 23 
using applications for integrating internal business processes (large enterprises)     53 70 26 using applications for employees to access Human Resources services     12 11 15 exchanging automatically business documents with customers/suppliers     18 25 23 sending/receiving e-invoices    15 11 21 23 sharing information electronically with customers/suppliers on Supply Chain Manag.     7 16 26 using analytical Customer Relation Manag.    14  17  
Indicators on the ICT sector, ICT skills and R&D               
ICT sector share of total GDP 3.7 0.0 3.6   5.0 14 
ICT sector share of total employment 1.2 1.3 1.5   2.7 15 ICT R&D expenditure by the business sector, as % of GDP 0.01 0.01    0.31 27 
= = = = =, as % of total R&D expenditure 4.6 5.7    26.4 27 
% of ICT exports on total exports 4.6 5.4 6.6 5.3   14 % of ICT exports on total imports 8.8 9.2 8.8 8.0   15 % of persons employed with ICT user skills.  6.3 8.7 9.1 9.8 18.4 27 % of persons employed with ICT specialist skills  1.8 2.4 2.5 2.5 3.0 23 
 
EN 52   EN 23. SLOVAKIA  
The information society in Slovakia is st ill lagging behind in comparison to general 
developments in the EU. However, Slovakia has strategic advantages for future developments: 
important ICT exports, a high level of adoption of  Internet by the population, and a high take-up 
of eBusiness applications by en terprises. The slow development of broadband, however, remains 
a constraint. 
Broadband 
Fixed broadband penetration is at only 10.9%, the lowe st rate in Europe. Despite this result, there 
has been positive progress in terms of households ' connectivity, approaching the EU average and 
climbing some places in terms of ranking, probably because of the larger than average size of 
Slovakian households. For DSL coverage, Slovakia remains at the bottom e nd of the EU ranking. 
As of December 2008, DSL coverage was 78% of  population (compared to a EU27 average of 
92.7%) and 43% of population in rural areas (the  EU27 average standing at 76.6%). Penetration 
of cable modem in Slovakia is relatively importa nt (about 35% of the mark et), although limited to 
urban areas. Take-up of FTTx services is deve loping quickly and approa ches 70,000 lines at the 
end of 2008. More than half of broadband user s subscribe to speeds above 2 MB/s, mainly 
through cable and FTTx access. Slovakia is also experiencing a generally rapid development of 
commercial and municipal wireless broa dband with increasing take-up rates. 
Internet Usage 
Despite the absence of widespread broadband ne tworks, there are slightly more regular and 
frequent internet users in Slovakia than on average in the EU . At 25%, Slovakia also has a lower 
proportion of the population which have never used th e internet. The picture with regard to take-
up of internet services is rather mixed. While a larger proportion of the population uses services 
such as sending emails, reading online newspa pers/magazines and downloading computer or 
videogames or their updates, the proportion of the population which uses other services is 
relatively low.  
The availability of eGovernment services in Slovak ia is lagging, especially for citizens. Despite 
low availability, take up by citizens and enterprises is above the EU average; with, in particular, 
Slovak enterprises having one of the highest rates of eGovernment take up in the EU.  
ICTs in the Economy 
Slovakia is lagging behind on the eC ommerce dimension, with all indi cators below average. This 
could be related to the low diffusion of broadband. The picture is far more positive for eBusiness. 
All applications are implemented more often than  on average. This is a particularly good result, 
given the fact that last year's report expre ssed concerns about the eBusiness use by Slovak 
enterprises.  
The contribution of the ICT sector to GDP and em ployment is similar to the average situation. 
For ICT exports and specialist eS kills, Slovakia even is one of the highest scoring countries. 
 
EN 53   EN Slovakia 
Description 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 EU27 ranking 
Broadband               
Total DSL coverage (as % of total population) 44.2 61.0 65.7 73.9 77.9 92.7 25 
DSL coverage in rural areas (as % of total population)  25.0 29.5 38.5 43.5 76.6 22 Broadband penetration (as % of population) 1.0 2.6 5.2 8.8 10.9 22.9 27 Speed - % of broadband subscriptions above 2 Mbps  0.6 1.8 48.6 65.5 63.3 13 % of households with an internet connection 23 23 27 46 58 60 14 % of households with a broadband connection 4 7 11 27 35 49 22 % of enterprises with a (fixed) broadband access 25 48 61 76 79 81 18 % of individuals using a mobile phone via UMTS (3G) to access the Internet   0 3 5 3 6 % of indiv. using a laptop via wireless connect. away from home/work to access the inter.    4 9 12 15 
Internet Usage               
% pop. who are regular internet users (using the internet at least once a week) 40 43 43 51 62 56 11 
% pop. who are frequent internet users (using the internet every day or almost every day) 20 23 26 33 44 43 12 
% population who have never used the internet  42 41 35 25 33 8 
Take up of internet services (as % of population)        
sending emails 38 42 42 50 58 53 10 
looking for information about goods and services 27 30 33 39 49 50 12 uploading self-created content     4 11 24 ordering goods or services, over the Internet, for private use 10 9 11 16 23 32 11 reading online newspapers/magazines 23 23 25 25 34 25 9 selling goods and services (e.g. via auctions) 2 0 2 2 5 10 16 internet banking 10 10 13 15 24 29 16 downloading computer or video games or their updates     11 9 8 downloading/listening to/watching music and/or films     28 28 15 paying for online audiovisual contents     3 5 16 listening to the web radio/watching web tv 6 6 8 11 17 20 18 
seeking health information on injury, disease or nutrition 18 9 14 16 25 28 14 
looking for a job or sending a job application 11 11 10 11 13 13 11 doing an online course    1 1 3 25 seeking information with the purpose of learning    3 14 26 22 
eGovernment Indicators               
% basic public services for citizens fully available online 8  8 17  51 25 
% basic public services for enterprises fully available online 25  38 63  72  % of population using eGovernment services 25 27 32 24 30 28 12  % of population using eGovernment services for returning filled in forms     12 12 13 % of enterprises using eGovernment services 47 57 77 85 88 68 6  % of enterprises using eGovernment services for returning filled in forms 18 16 45 56 51 50 14  of which to submit a proposal in a public electronic tender system (e-procurement)  2 4 6 7 9 22 
eCommerce               
eCommerce as % of total turnover of enterprises  0 0 3 8 12 14 
% enterprises selling online 6 7  5 5 16 21 
% enterprises purchasing online 3 7  8 9 28 22 
eBusiness: % of enterprises               
using applications for integrating internal business processes (all enterprises)     45 41 16 
using applications for integrating internal business processes (large enterprises)     76 70 13 using applications for employees to access Human Resources services     13 11 13 exchanging automatically business documents with customers/suppliers     36 25 4 sending/receiving e-invoices    14 23 21 13 sharing information electronically with customers/suppliers on Supply Chain Manag.     20 16 9 using analytical Customer Relation Manag.    11 13 17 18 
Indicators on the ICT sector, ICT skills and R&D               
ICT sector share of total GDP 3.9  4.7   5.0 7 
ICT sector share of total employment 2.6  2.7   2.7 10 ICT R&D expenditure by the business sector, as % of GDP 0.02 0.02    0.31 26 
= = = = =, as % of total R&D expenditure 7.0 6.1    26.4 26 
% of ICT exports on total exports 6.6 9.4 12.6 14.5   7 % of ICT exports on total imports 8.5 9.4 9.8 14.8   5 % of persons employed with ICT user skills. 15.7 15.4 15.4 15.6 15.9 18.4 22 % of persons employed with ICT specialist skills 3.0 3.2 3.3 3.5 3.2 3.0 8 
 
EN 54   EN 24. SLOVENIA  
Slovenia is fairly advanced in the information so ciety. The past year was characterised by further 
improvements in terms of connectivity and Sl ovenia is one of the leading countries in 
eGovernment. Significant initiatives have been taken in the field of eLearning. The general 
framework for the development of the information society in Slovenia is provided by the national 
'Strategy for the Development of the Informati on Society in the Republic of Slovenia (si2010)', 
which, in terms of its structure, follows the Euro pean i2010 initiative. The main objectives of the 
Strategy are to promote competitiveness and produc tivity, ensure balanced social and regional 
development, and improve the quality of life of society as a whole and of each individual.  
Broadband 
The latest indicators reveal stabilization in DSL coverage, which now exceeds the EU average 
also for rural areas. Broadband penetration stands  at 21%, just below average. Households and 
enterprises' connectivity is in line with the EU  average. Despite progre ss, there is room for 
improvement in terms of broadband speeds, as  only a third of broadband subscribers can 
experience speeds above 2MB/s. Finally, Slovenia  is experiencing the take up of mobile 
broadband through 3G at faster rate s than most other countries. 
Internet Usage 
There are slightly less regular and frequent intern et users in Slovenia than on average in the EU. 
Similarly, there is a somewhat large proporti on of people never having used the internet. 
Subsequently, most indicators meas uring take-up of internet services are comparable to the EU 
average.  
Slovenia is one of the leading c ountries in the adopti on of eGovernment. Both online availability 
and take-up of public services ar e above average. Especially fo r enterprises, the rankings are 
among the highest in Europe.  
ICTs in the Economy 
2008 data for eCommerce are not available, but progr ess was flat in previous years. The take-up 
of most eBusiness applications is higher than  average with the exception of Human Resources 
services, e-invoices and Cust omer Relation Management.  
Data on the contribution of the ICT sector to th e economy are not available. Slovenia experiences 
a fairly good eSkills base which represents a strong basis for future developments. 
 
EN 55   EN Slovenia 
Description 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 EU27 ranking 
Broadband               
Total DSL coverage (as % of total population)  55.0 88.2 92.2 92.2 92.7 18 
DSL coverage in rural areas (as % of total population)  27.0 78.5 85.5 82.6 76.6 14 Broadband penetration (as % of population) 5.9 9.8 14.0 17.3 21.0 22.9 13 Speed - % of broadband subscriptions above 2 Mbps   15.0 17.5 37.2 63.3 22 % of households with an internet connection 47 48 54 58 59 60 13 % of households with a broadband connection 10 19 34 44 50 49 13 % of enterprises with a (fixed) broadband access 62 74 75 79 84 81 11 % of individuals using a mobile phone via UMTS (3G) to access the Internet   3 5 6 3 4 % of indiv. using a laptop via wireless connect. away from home/work to access the inter.    6 8 12 16 
Internet Usage               
% pop. who are regular internet users (using the internet at least once a week) 33 40 47 49 52 56 16 
% pop. who are frequent internet users (using the internet every day or almost every day) 22 27 36 38 40 43 15 
% population who have never used the internet  48 43 39 40 33 18 
Take up of internet services (as % of population)        
sending emails 29 36 42 44 47 53 17 
looking for information about goods and services 29 36 42 47 48 50 15 uploading self-created content     10 11 11 ordering goods or services, over the Internet, for private use 8  13 16 18 32 17 reading online newspapers/magazines 16 20 24 23 34 25 10 selling goods and services (e.g. via auctions) 2  8 9 17 10 4 internet banking 9 12 16 19 21 29 17 downloading computer or video games or their updates     9 9 12 downloading/listening to/watching music and/or films     29 28 14 paying for online audiovisual contents     3 5 14 listening to the web radio/watching web tv 6 10 15 23 26 20 6 
seeking health information on injury, disease or nutrition 13 15 22 26 27 28 10 
looking for a job or sending a job application 6 7 9 11 10 13 16 doing an online course    2 3 3 13 seeking information with the purpose of learning    24 31 26 6 
eGovernment Indicators               
% basic public services for citizens fully available online 50  58 92  51 2 
% basic public services for enterprises fully available online 38  75 88  72  % of population using eGovernment services 13 19 30 30 31 28 11  % of population using eGovernment services for returning filled in forms     7 12 17 % of enterprises using eGovernment services 47 72 75 83 88 68 5  % of enterprises using eGovernment services for returning filled in forms 36 45 49 61 69 50 4  of which to submit a proposal in a public electronic tender system (e-procurement)  5 4 5 11 9 7 
eCommerce               
eCommerce as % of total turnover of enterprises   9 9  12  
% enterprises selling online 15 12 11 10  16 16 
% enterprises purchasing online 17 15 18 21  28 15 
eBusiness: % of enterprises               
using applications for integrating internal business processes (all enterprises)     47 41 12 
using applications for integrating internal business processes (large enterprises)     75 70 14 using applications for employees to access Human Resources services     8 11 23 exchanging automatically business documents with customers/suppliers     26 25 16 sending/receiving e-invoices    7 8 21 25 sharing information electronically with customers/suppliers on Supply Chain Manag.     27 16 5 using analytical Customer Relation Manag.    14 9 17 22 
Indicators on the ICT sector, ICT skills and R&D               
ICT sector share of total GDP      5.0  
ICT sector share of total employment      2.7  ICT R&D expenditure by the business sector, as % of GDP 0.1 0.1    0.3 12 
= = = = =, as % of total R&D expenditure 15.8 17.5    26.4 19 
% of ICT exports on total exports 4.2 3.6 3.5 2.4   26 % of ICT exports on total imports 6.8 6.1 5.7 5.2   26 % of persons employed with ICT user skills. 20.8 19.7 19.8 20.8 19.6 18.4 11 % of persons employed with ICT specialist skills 2.5 2.7 2.9 2.8 2.9 3.0 17 
 
EN 56   EN 25. SPAIN  
Spain scores well in the areas of eGovernment  services and availability for citizens and 
businesses and in some broadband indicators. However, general ICT usage by businesses and 
households is still below the EU average and progress is slow. The 'Avanza Plan' , the national 
ICT strategic plan, is expected to fill the gap with the European Union: the plan comprises a 
series of specific programmes focu sed on citizens, companies, the digital context, digital public 
services and the eAdministration. Since the end of 2008, the implementation of the 'AvanzaDos 
Plan'  has begun with new strategic lines for devel oping the information society for the period up 
to 2012. Specific initiatives have been taken for boosting infrastructures and provide IT 
equipments to schools and universities. 
Broadband 
DSL coverage in Spain further increased, but br oadband penetration remains below average. The 
connectivity of households is lower than aver age as well, both for broadband and narrowband 
connections. Enterprises on the other hand are be tter connected and Spain ranks in second place 
in the EU. A significant share of broadband subscrip tions (the fourth highest in the EU) features 
speeds above the 2 MB/s threshold.  
Spain scores well in mobile connectivity indicators . The take-up of 3G even is the second highest 
in Europe (after Sweden) and wireless soluti ons have been deployed in rural areas.  
Internet Usage  
Spanish citizens are not heavy internet users. Th e shares of both regular and frequent internet 
users in the population are significantly be low the EU average, resulting in a 19th and 20th place 
respectively. For the take -up of internet services, Spain is  not a frontrunner either. A lot of 
indicators are below average and show low rankings. Exceptions are: doing online courses, 
reading newspapers online and online media consumption or downloading.  
The take-up of eGovernment services by citizens is  in line with the EU average. But for the use 
by enterprises, Spain is one of the lowest rank ing countries. The high online availability of 
services for both citizens a nd enterprises is thus not reflected in the adoption.  
ICTs in the Economy 
For eCommerce, Spain ranks in the middle part of  the EU ranking, with a ll three indicators below 
average. For eBusiness, the picture is mixed, as  the country scores average for some indicators 
(suggesting a more intensive take  up by large enterprises), and poorly for others (exchanging 
automatically documents with customers and suppliers and sanding/receiving e-invoices).  
The ICT sector is not particularly important fo r the economy and eSkills, both user and specialist 
levels, are below average.  
 
EN 57   EN Spain 
Description 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 EU27 ranking 
Broadband               
Total DSL coverage (as % of total population) 87.0 89.0 90.0 91.0 93.0 92.7 16 
DSL coverage in rural areas (as % of total population)  82.0 86.0 88.0 89.7 76.6 9 Broadband penetration (as % of population) 8.0 11.7 15.2 18.3 20.2 22.9 15 Speed - % of broadband subscriptions above 2 Mbps  4.0 26.5 83.4 83.7 63.3 4 % of households with an internet connection 34 36 39 45 51 60 17 % of households with a broadband connection 15 21 29 39 45 49 14 % of enterprises with a (fixed) broadband access 72 76 87 90 92 81 2 % of individuals using a mobile phone via UMTS (3G) to access the Internet    5 6 3 2 % of indiv. using a laptop via wireless connect. away from home/work to access the inter.    10 12 12 11 
Internet Usage               
% pop. who are regular internet users (using the internet at least once a week) 31 35 39 44 49 56 19 
% pop. who are frequent internet users (using the internet every day or almost every day) 18 21 25 30 34 43 20 
% population who have never used the internet  50 47 43 38 33 17 
Take up of internet services (as % of population)        
sending emails 31 34 37 42 46 53 18 
looking for information about goods and services 30 33 38 42 46 50 16 uploading self-created content     8 11 13 ordering goods or services, over the Internet, for private use 8 12 15 18 20 32 15 reading online newspapers/magazines 21   24 27 25 16 selling goods and services (e.g. via auctions) 2 2 3 3 4 10 17 internet banking 12 14 15 16 20 29 18 downloading computer or video games or their updates     7 9 15 downloading/listening to/watching music and/or films     31 28 10 paying for online audiovisual contents     3 5 13 listening to the web radio/watching web tv  24  17 23 20 10 
seeking health information on injury, disease or nutrition 9 13 19 21 25 28 13 
looking for a job or sending a job application    10 12 13 12 doing an online course    5 6 3 3 seeking information with the purpose of learning    19 25 26 10 
eGovernment Indicators               
% basic public services for citizens fully available online 33  33 58  51 9 
% basic public services for enterprises fully available online 88  88 88  72  % of population using eGovernment services   25 26 29 28 13  % of population using eGovernment services for returning filled in forms     9 12 16 % of enterprises using eGovernment services 50 55 58 58 64 68 22  % of enterprises using eGovernment services for returning filled in forms 32 35 38 38 45 50 18  of which to submit a proposal in a public electronic tender system (e-procurement)  2 2 3 5 9 25 
eCommerce               
eCommerce as % of total turnover of enterprises 3 3 7 9 8 12 12 
% enterprises selling online 2 3 8 8 10 16 14 
% enterprises purchasing online 3 4 15 16 19 28 12 
eBusiness: % of enterprises               
using applications for integrating internal business processes (all enterprises)     40 41 19 
using applications for integrating internal business processes (large enterprises)     74 70 16 using applications for employees to access Human Resources services      11  exchanging automatically business documents with customers/suppliers     13 25 25 sending/receiving e-invoices    9 12 21 21 sharing information electronically with customers/suppliers on Supply Chain Manag.     20 16 10 using analytical Customer Relation Manag.    15 17 17 10 
Indicators on the ICT sector, ICT skills and R&D               
ICT sector share of total GDP 3.9 3.8 3.8   5.0 13 
ICT sector share of total employment 2.0 1.9 1.9   2.7 13 ICT R&D expenditure by the business sector, as % of GDP 0.08 0.09    0.31 17 
= = = = =, as % of total R&D expenditure 14.3 14.3    26.4 22 
% of ICT exports on total exports 4.6 4.6 4.3 3.8   23 % of ICT exports on total imports 7.5 7.5 7.5 7.9   16 % of persons employed with ICT user skills. 15.7 15.4 15.5 15.6 16.0 18.4 21 % of persons employed with ICT specialist skills 2.7 2.7 2.7 3.0 2.9 3.0 16 
 
EN 58   EN 26. SWEDEN  
Sweden is among the top nations for information so ciety developments and is firmly within the 
group of leading countries in the European Union. It also has a competitive and dynamic ICT sector. New important actions have been la unched in 2008 by the Swedish government. They 
include: a new citizen-centred na tional e-health strategy desi gned to use ICT to achieve 
improvements for patients, health professionals  and decision-makers; the adoption of a new 
action plan for e-Government aiming to improving the coordination of related strategies within 
the Swedish Government Offices and retaking a leading position in th e eGovernment field by 
2010; actions to support ICT & Ageing as well as  accessibility and us ability of eServices 
websites.  
Broadband 
Broadband penetration stands at 31 .3%, the third highest figure in  the EU and amongst the world 
leaders. There is also almost full (97.9%) DSL coverage. This results in the second highest 
percentage of households with internet connections, 85% of wh ich are broadband. Enterprises' 
broadband connectivity exceeds the EU average t oo, yielding Sweden a fifth place for this 
indicator. Sweden is also a frontrunner for the take-up of new mobile me thods as well. Nowhere 
else in Europe, for example, 3G access is more widespread.  
Internet Usage 
As a result of high connectivity, Sweden ranks 1
st and 2nd for the proportion of regular and 
frequent internet users in the population. Corre spondingly, the country has the lowest share of 
people that have never used the internet.  
High connectivity is also reflecte d in the take-up of online servic es. There is only  one indicator 
for which the score is slightly below average: downloading computer or video games or their 
updates. For all the other activities, Swed en is one of the leading countries.  
The same holds for the take-up of eGoverment se rvices by citizens, despite somewhat lower 
availability. As far as eGovernment for enterpri ses goes, Sweden scores above average as well, 
although the difference is smaller.  
ICT in the Economy 
Like for most other dimensions, Sweden is amo ng the top countries for the use of ICT in the 
economy. It is one of the six best performing c ountries for eCommerce and exceeds EU averages 
for most eBusiness indicators. Rela tive to other areas of take up, however, there is clear scope for 
improvement in the take up of eBusiness solutions.  
Sweden also has a large ICT sect or. Its contribution to employme nt and GDP is the highest and 
second highest in Europe respect ively. Roughly 10% of the exports  are ICT exports. Expenditure 
in ICT R&D as a percentage of GDP is the seco nd highest in Europe. The important role of ICT 
in the Swedish economy is further strengthene d by its large base of ICT specialists.  
 
EN 59   EN Sweden 
Description 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 EU27 ranking 
Broadband               
Total DSL coverage (as % of total population) 91.0 93.5 95.3 97.8 97.9 92.7 8 
DSL coverage in rural areas (as % of total population)  66.0 84.0 90.0 90.0 76.6 7 Broadband penetration (as % of population) 15.4 20.7 25.9 31.2 31.3 22.9 3 Speed - % of broadband subscriptions above 2 Mbps  41.5 27.3 56.5 66.6 63.3 11 % of households with an internet connection  73 77 79 84 60 2 % of households with a broadband connection  40 51 67 71 49 3 % of enterprises with a (fixed) broadband access  83 89 87 89 81 5 % of individuals using a mobile phone via UMTS (3G) to access the Internet   5 9 9 3 1 % of indiv. using a laptop via wireless connect. away from home/work to access the inter.    15 22 12 3 
Internet Usage               
% pop. who are regular internet users (using the internet at least once a week) 75 76 80 75 83 56 1 
% pop. who are frequent internet users (using the internet every day or almost every day) 52 57 61 58 69 43 2 
% population who have never used the internet  12 10 15 9 33 1 
Take up of internet services (as % of population)        
sending emails 64 67 74 69 78 53 2 
looking for information about goods and services 59 70 74 70 75 50 2 uploading self-created content     15 11 8 ordering goods or services, over the Internet, for private use 43 50 55 53 53 32 4 reading online newspapers/magazines 28 39 41 43 45 25 4 selling goods and services (e.g. via auctions) 6 10 14 13 15 10 6 internet banking 40 51 57 57 65 29 3 downloading computer or video games or their updates     8 9 13 downloading/listening to/watching music and/or films     34 28 7 paying for online audiovisual contents     16 5 1 listening to the web radio/watching web tv 13 21 28 33 42 20 1 
seeking health information on injury, disease or nutrition 18 23 28 25 32 28 8 
looking for a job or sending a job application 16 23 24 18 22 13 3 doing an online course    3 3 3 12 seeking information with the purpose of learning    27 33 26 4 
eGovernment Indicators               
% basic public services for citizens fully available online 64  64 75  51 7 
% basic public services for enterprises fully available online 88  88 75  72  % of population using eGovernment services 39 52  53 52 28 3  % of population using eGovernment services for returning filled in forms     26 12 3 % of enterprises using eGovernment services 92 80 80 79 78 68 12  % of enterprises using eGovernment services for returning filled in forms 53 48 53 55 58 50 13  of which to submit a proposal in a public electronic tender system (e-procurement)  10 12 11 11 9 8 
eCommerce               
eCommerce as % of total turnover of enterprises   14 14 13 12 6 
% enterprises selling online 20 23 24 27 19 16 6 
% enterprises purchasing online 38 41 44 48 50 28 2 
eBusiness: % of enterprises               
using applications for integrating internal business processes (all enterprises)     47 41 13 
using applications for integrating internal business processes (large enterprises)     79 70 11 using applications for employees to access Human Resources services     16 11 9 exchanging automatically business documents with customers/suppliers     25 25 18 sending/receiving e-invoices    18 17 21 18 sharing information electronically with customers/suppliers on Supply Chain Manag.     27 16 4 using analytical Customer Relation Manag.    22 23 17 5 
Indicators on the ICT sector, ICT skills and R&D               
ICT sector share of total GDP 6.8 7.0 6.9   5.0 2 
ICT sector share of total employment 4.5 4.8 4.8   2.7 1 ICT R&D expenditure by the business sector, as % of GDP 0.97 1.06    0.31 2 
= = = = =, as % of total R&D expenditure 36.3 37.6    26.4 4 
% of ICT exports on total exports 11.2 11.2 10.7 10.6   9 % of ICT exports on total imports 11.5 11.2 11.4 11.2   8 % of persons employed with ICT user skills. 20.1 19.3 19.6 19.8 20.0 18.4 8 % of persons employed with ICT specialist skills 4.4 4.9 4.9 4.9 5.0 3.0 1 
 
EN 60   EN 27. UNITED KINGDOM  
The United Kingdom is one of the best performi ng countries in Europe, with most of the 
benchmarking indicators above EU average. Ther e is high connectivity, which leads on the one 
hand to a widespread take-up of  internet services by households  and on the othe r hand to a 
significant share of eCommerce, although eBusin ess take up is lagging behind. Moreover, the 
ICT sector holds an important share of the British economy. The recent 'Digital Britain' report 
sets out the next steps of the British government to maximise the economic and social 
opportunities of ICT, with f our action points: to assi st the private sector in  delivering an effective 
modern communications infrastructure, including a universal service commitment to ensure access to 2MB/s broadband services by 2012, and pr oposals to assist the development of next 
generation broadband to those areas that will not benefit from comm ercial deployments; to enable 
Britain to be a global centre for the creative industries in the digital age, including public service content, within a clear and fair legal framework;  to ensure that people have the capabilities and 
skills to flourish in the digital economy, and that all can participate in digital society; and actions 
to modernise and improve its service to the taxp ayer through digital proc urement and the digital 
delivery of public services.  
Broadband 
Broadband penetration in the UK has further incr eased to 28.4%, meaning that it has almost 
tripled since 2004 (10.4%). There is also almost  complete DSL coverage and the proportion of 
+2MB/s connections is in line with the EU averag e. Mobile connectivity is well established as 
well.  
This results in one of the highest  shares of internet connected households in Europe (with 86% of 
them using broadband). Over 87% of the British enterprises have broadba nd internet access, an 
increase of 9 p.p. or five places in the ranking relative to last year.  
Internet Usage 
Due to high household c onnectivity, the UK ranks 6
th in terms of the percentage of regular and 
frequent internet users in the population. The country is also one of the frontrunners for a wide 
variety of internet services. All activities except for seeking health and learning information are 
carried out more often online than on  average amongst EU Member States.  
However, there was a fallback in the ranking of th e take-up of eGovernment  services by citizens 
in 2008, despite high online availability of public se rvices. For enterprises,  the availability was 
very high as well, and there was an increase in  their use of eGovernment, however the UK still 
remains at the bottom end of the EU ranking for this indicator.  
ICTs in the Economy 
The UK is one of the frontrunners in the field of eCommerce, with one in three companies selling 
online, and only in Malta accounts for a larger portion of tur nover generated by eCommerce.  
Despite the importance of electronic trade, Britis h companies seriously lag behind in terms of the 
use of eBusiness applications, where it is among the lowest of all Member States.  
The ICT sector as a whole is an important contribu tor to the GDP and to employment, but 
business expenditure in ICT R&D is below average. Finally, the UK is second in terms of employees with ICT user skills, but there is room  for improvement in terms of specialist eSkills.  
 
EN 61   EN United Kingdom 
Description 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 EU27 ranking 
Broadband               
Total DSL coverage (as % of total population) 95.0 99.4 99.5 99.6 99.8 92.7 5 
DSL coverage in rural areas (as % of total population)  94.9 95.0 96.1 99.4 76.6 5 Broadband penetration (as % of population) 10.2 16.5 21.7 25.7 28.4 22.9 6 Speed - % of broadband subscriptions above 2 Mbps  1.4 30.8 46.6 65.8 63.3 12 % of households with an internet connection 56 60 63 67 71 60 7 % of households with a broadband connection 16 32 44 57 62 49 5 % of enterprises with a (fixed) broadband access 50 65 77 78 87 81 8 % of individuals using a mobile phone via UMTS (3G) to access the Internet   2 2 3 3 12 % of indiv. using a laptop via wireless connect. away from home/work to access the inter.    13 18 12 6 
Internet Usage               
% pop. who are regular internet users (using the internet at least once a week) 49 54 57 65 70 56 6 
% pop. who are frequent internet users (using the internet every day or almost every day) 29 34 39 48 53 43 6 
% population who have never used the internet  28 29 22 19 33 6 
Take up of internet services (as % of population)        
sending emails 53 57 53 61 66 53 7 
looking for information about goods and services 49 57 55 62 64 50 7 uploading self-created content     19 11 4 ordering goods or services, over the Internet, for private use 37 44 45 53 57 32 2 reading online newspapers/magazines 18 24 23 22 37 25 8 selling goods and services (e.g. via auctions) 5 8 12 13 15 10 5 internet banking 22 27 28 32 38 29 11 downloading computer or video games or their updates     10 9 10 downloading/listening to/watching music and/or films     34 28 6 paying for online audiovisual contents     12 5 4 listening to the web radio/watching web tv 10 15 15 18 26 20 7 
seeking health information on injury, disease or nutrition 26 25 18 20 26 28 11 
looking for a job or sending a job application 14 16 16 15 20 13 4 doing an online course    5 5 3 5 seeking information with the purpose of learning    24 25 26 11 
eGovernment Indicators               
% basic public services for citizens fully available online 60  80 91  51 4 
% basic public services for enterprises fully available online 57  57 88  72  % of population using eGovernment services 22 24  38 32 28 10  % of population using eGovernment services for returning filled in forms     12 12 12 % of enterprises using eGovernment services 34 39 52 54 64 68 21  % of enterprises using eGovernment services for returning filled in forms 12 19 38 40 51 50 15  of which to submit a proposal in a public electronic tender system (e-procurement)   12 10 9 9 11 
eCommerce               
eCommerce as % of total turnover of enterprises 14 16 17 19 21 12 2 
% enterprises selling online 29 25 30 29 32 16 1 
% enterprises purchasing online 53 51 51 49 47 28 3 
eBusiness: % of enterprises               
using applications for integrating internal business processes (all enterprises)     27 41 24 
using applications for integrating internal business processes (large enterprises)     51 70 27 
using applications for employees to access Human Resources services     8 11 21 exchanging automatically business documents with customers/suppliers     11 25 26 sending/receiving e-invoices    15 11 21 24 sharing information electronically with customers/suppliers on Supply Chain Manag.     7 16 27 using analytical Customer Relation Manag.    13 14 17 16 
Indicators on the ICT sector, ICT skills and R&D               
ICT sector share of total GDP 6.6 6.8 6.9   5.0 3 
ICT sector share of total employment 3.7 3.7 3.5   2.7 5 
ICT R&D expenditure by the business sector, as % of GDP 0.25 0.24    0.31 10 
= = = = =, as % of total R&D expenditure 23.6 23.0    26.4 16 % of ICT exports on total exports 7.9 9.9 13.3 4.7   19 % of ICT exports on total imports 10.6 10.0 10.7 8.9   13 % of persons employed with ICT user skills. 24.3 24.8 24.9 25.2 25.2 18.4 2 % of persons employed with ICT specialist skills 3.3 3.2 3.2 3.2 3.1 3.0 10 
 
EN 62   EN 28. ICELAND  
Iceland shows extraordinary scores for connectivity and citizens' use indicators. For these 
dimensions, it is more advanced than the EU Member States. However, the availability of eGovernment services does not seem to match th e overall development of the information society 
in the country. To this end, the Icelandic Government published in May 2008 a new 2008-2012 policy on the Information Society, known as e-na tion aiming at providing efficient, simple and 
secure online accessibility of all public services. eP rocurement was one of the biggest projects in 
the IT budget for 2008 and 2009. It has a strong focus on open stan dards and interoperability and 
aims at enabling all public admini strations to carry out  100 % of their procurement electronically 
by 2009. 
Broadband 
Households' connectivity is high. A remarkable ra te of 88% of households has internet access, 
almost fully (95%) through br oadband connections. Virtually all enterprises (99.5%) have 
broadband internet access. This means that narrowband has already become obsolete.  
Furthermore, a third of the population accesses th e internet through mobile laptops. Broadband 
coverage is high, despite the remoteness of some re gions, and further progress is expected to take 
place on average speed, which nowadays exceed s 2MB/s for 72% of broadband lines.  
Internet Usage  
Iceland also outperforms all the EU27 countries in  terms of regular, frequent and non users of the 
Internet. 88% of the Icel andic population are regul ar Internet users, which is better than the 
83.5% in Sweden, while 78% even are frequent us ers, exceeding Denmark's 71%. Only 8% have 
never used the Internet (compared to 9% in Sweden).  
This outstanding situation is reflected in the take- up of internet services. For nearly all indicators 
(even for the most frequent activities), the EU average is largely exceeded.  
The use of eGovernment services by citizens and enterprises is much higher than the EU average 
as well. But the online availability  of public services is insufficien t to Icelandic standards. This 
one of the rare indicators for which Iceland is not one of the best performing countries in the 
European Area.  
ICTs in the Economy 
Both eCommerce and eBusiness indicators confirm a positive performance in the use of ICT. The 
eSkills base is close to EU averages.  
 
EN 63   EN Iceland 
Description 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 EU27 ranking 
Broadband               
Total DSL coverage (as % of total population) 92.0 92.0 92.0 92.0 94.8 92.7  
DSL coverage in rural areas (as % of total population)  79.0 79.0 79.0 86.0 76.6  Broadband penetration (as % of population)      22.9  Speed - % of broadband subscriptions above 2 Mbps  44.3 44.1 46.1 72.3 63.3  % of households with an internet connection 81 84 83 84 88 60  % of households with a broadband connection 45 63 72 76 83 49  % of enterprises with a (fixed) broadband access   95  99 81  % of individuals using a mobile phone via UMTS (3G) to access the Internet   1 1 3 3  % of indiv. using a laptop via wireless connect. away from home/work to access the inter.    29 28 12  
Internet Usage               
% pop. who are regular internet users (using the internet at least once a week) 77 81 84 86 88 56  
% pop. who are frequent internet users (using the internet every day or almost every day) 61 65 71 74 78 43  
% population who have never used the internet  11 9 8 8 33  
Take up of internet services (as % of population)        
sending emails 73 75 77 80 83 53  
looking for information about goods and services 72 73 76 78 78 50  uploading self-created content     20 11  ordering goods or services, over the Internet, for private use 37 44 50 50 47 32  reading online newspapers/magazines 61 65 67 67 69 25  selling goods and services (e.g. via auctions) 6 6 8 12  10  internet banking 54 61 67 72 68 29  downloading computer or video games or their updates     9 9  downloading/listening to/watching music and/or films     37 28  paying for online audiovisual contents     13 5  listening to the web radio/watching web tv 21 31 43 48 57 20  
seeking health information on injury, disease or nutrition 40 39 40 44 39 28  
looking for a job or sending a job application 16 16 17 16 14 13  doing an online course    9 13 3  seeking information with the purpose of learning    42 65 26  
eGovernment Indicators               
% basic public services for citizens fully available online 36  36 42  51  
% basic public services for enterprises fully available online 71  63 63  72  % of population using eGovernment services 58 55 61 59 63 28   % of population using eGovernment services for returning filled in forms     20 12  % of enterprises using eGovernment services   95  91 68   % of enterprises using eGovernment services for returning filled in forms   81  87 50   of which to submit a proposal in a public electronic tender system (e-procurement)   16  11 9  
eCommerce               
eCommerce as % of total turnover of enterprises   8   12  
% enterprises selling online   22  21 16  
% enterprises purchasing online   38  35 28  
eBusiness: % of enterprises               
using applications for integrating internal business processes (all enterprises)     46 41  
using applications for integrating internal business processes (large enterprises)     78 70  using applications for employees to access Human Resources services     12 11  exchanging automatically business documents with customers/suppliers     18 25  sending/receiving e-invoices     20 21  sharing information electronically with customers/suppliers on Supply Chain Manag.     10 16  using analytical Customer Relation Manag.     19 17  
Indicators on the ICT sector, ICT skills and R&D               
ICT sector share of total GDP      5.0  
ICT sector share of total employment      2.7  ICT R&D expenditure by the business sector, as % of GDP      0.31  
= = = = =, as % of total R&D expenditure      26.4  
% of ICT exports on total exports        % of ICT exports on total imports        % of persons employed with ICT user skills. 18.3 23.3 18.6 19.7  18.4  % of persons employed with ICT specialist skills 3.2 3.1 3.0 3.1  3.0  
 
EN 64   EN 29. NORWAY  
Norway is placed among the top nations for inform ation society developments and firmly belongs 
to the group of leading European  countries. All available indicator s show better scores than the 
EU27 average.  
Broadband 
Norway is one of the most advanced countries  for Internet connectiv ity, with high broadband 
penetration, good DSL coverage and fast broadband lines. Moreover, both 3G and wireless laptop 
connections are used more than twice as much as on average in the EU.  
This provides a good basis for positive outcomes in terms of households and enterprises' 
connectivity: 73% of households and 86% of enterprises subscr ibe to broadband connections.  
Internet usage 
Norway's status as one of the world's leading Inte rnet countries is not only reflected by the very 
high number of internet connected households, but  also by the widespread take-up of most 
internet services.  
With 30% more regular and frequent internet user s than on average in the EU27, the results of the 
top scoring EU countries (Sweden and Denmark respectively) are even exceeded. Moreover, the 
share of people having never used  the internet before is lower than in Sweden, Europe's best 
performing country on this indicator.  
Nearly all the reported internet activities are don e significantly more often than on average in the 
EU. The most popular activitie s are sending emails, looking up information about goods and 
services, internet banking and reading online newspapers; wher e rates of use exceed the EU 
average by between 30 and 50pp. Ho wever, use of other services is also for th e most part 
significantly higher. However, upl oading self-created content and selling goods and services are 
only marginally above the EU average. 
It is no surprise then that the use of eGovern ment is also higher than on average in the EU, 
especially for citizens' services. Availability of these services is  also high. While also above the 
EU average, enterprise related eGovernment indicators differ less from the EU average.  
ICTs in the Economy 
The take up of eBusines s applications has progressed and to ps EU averages. The importance of 
eCommerce is even more signif icant. Norway is clearly bene fiting from the good opportunities 
provided by the important eSkills base it enjoys.  
 
EN 65   EN Norway 
Description 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 EU27 ranking 
Broadband               
Total DSL coverage (as % of total population) 82.0 88.4 91.0 95.8 95.8 92.7  
DSL coverage in rural areas (as % of total population)  82.7 86.0 94.0 94.0 76.6  Broadband penetration (as % of population)  18.1 24.3 29.1 33.5 22.9  Speed - % of broadband subscriptions above 2 Mbps  27.0 22.8 62.0 78.2 63.3  % of households with an internet connection 60 64 69 78 84 60  % of households with a broadband connection 30 41 57 67 73 49  % of enterprises with a (fixed) broadband access 60 78 86 85 86 81  % of individuals using a mobile phone via UMTS (3G) to access the Internet   0 4 7 3  % of indiv. using a laptop via wireless connect. away from home/work to access the inter.    21 28 12  
Internet Usage               
% pop. who are regular internet users (using the internet at least once a week) 68 74 77 81 86 56  
% pop. who are frequent internet users (using the internet every day or almost every day) 43 50 59 66 72 43  % population who have never used the internet  15 17 11 8 33  
Take up of internet services (as % of population)        
sending emails 66 68 72 76 82 53  
looking for information about goods and services 62 67 74 76 80 50  uploading self-created content     12 11  ordering goods or services, over the Internet, for private use 41 55 61 63 63 32  reading online newspapers/magazines 56 60 65  73 25  selling goods and services (e.g. via auctions) 4 6 10 8 11 10  internet banking 55 62 67 71 75 29  downloading computer or video games or their updates     14 9  downloading/listening to/watching music and/or films     42 28  paying for online audiovisual contents     10 5  listening to the web radio/watching web tv 21 24 34 37 42 20  seeking health information on injury, disease or nutrition 29 26 34 37 41 28  looking for a job or sending a job application 16 18 22 22 22 13  
doing an online course    4 6 3  
seeking information with the purpose of learning    46 52 26  
eGovernment Indicators               
% basic public services for citizens fully available online 40  60 80  51  
% basic public services for enterprises fully available online 75  88 75  72  % of population using eGovernment services 37 52 57 60 62 28   % of population using eGovernment services for returning filled in forms     27 12  % of enterprises using eGovernment services 69 84 74 71 76 68   % of enterprises using eGovernment services for returning filled in forms 40 59 62 61 63 50   of which to submit a proposal in a public electronic tender system (e-procurement)  20 15 15 16 9  
eCommerce               
eCommerce as % of total turnover of enterprises 8 15 14 18 22 12  
% enterprises selling online 13 26 28 32 30 16  % enterprises purchasing online 27 36 49 48 44 28  
eBusiness: % of enterprises               
using applications for integrating internal business processes (all enterprises)     60 41  
using applications for integrating internal business processes (large enterprises)     81 70  using applications for employees to access Human Resources services     18 11  exchanging automatically business documents with customers/suppliers     37 25  sending/receiving e-invoices    29 31 21  sharing information electronically with customers/suppliers on Supply Chain Manag.     22 16  using analytical Customer Relation Manag.    18 21 17  
Indicators on the ICT sector, ICT skills and R&D               
ICT sector share of total GDP      5.0  
ICT sector share of total employment      2.7  ICT R&D expenditure by the business sector, as % of GDP      0.31  = = = = =, as % of total R&D expenditure      26.4  % of ICT exports on total exports        
% of ICT exports on total imports        
% of persons employed with ICT user skills. 19.5 19.6 19.7 19.2 19.1 18.4  % of persons employed with ICT specialist skills 4.5 5.0 4.7 5.0 4.7 3.0  
 
EN 66   EN 30. CROATIA  
Available data for Croatia are based on Eurostat. They show that the c ountry is lagging behind 
EU Member States in most dimensions of the information society, with the notable exception of 
ICT take up by businesses. Several initiati ves have been launched in 2008 to progress 
information society in Croatia and br idge the digital ga p: the Electronic  Communication Act to 
comply with the aquis communitaire; the Operat ional Plan of implementation of eCroatia to 
progress of the ICT infrastructur es; the Action Plan for the deve lopment of broadband Internet 
access to achieve 500 000 broadband connections until the end of 2008. More recently (January 2009 the Croatian Government has adopted the St rategy for the Development of eGovernment 
over the period 2009-2012 to build a modern, tran sparent, efficient a nd streamlined public 
services for citizens. 
Broadband 
The percentage of households with broadband c onnections is below EU average but 88% of 
Croatian firms do have broadband access, exceeding the EU average of 81%.  
Internet Usage 
In Croatia, regular and frequent internet us ers are largely underrepresented compared to the 
average situation in Europe. More than half of the Croatians have  even never used the internet 
before.  
These rates are reflected in the take-up of intern et services. Except for reading online newspapers, 
Croatians perform the reported activities far less than  on average in the EU. This is also the case 
for eGovernment services. Especially for the us e by citizens, the gap is  still very wide.  
ICTs in the Economy 
While developments in eCommerce are slow, the ta ke up of eBusiness solutions is positive. Most 
applications are used even more than on average in the EU27. Howeve r, the availability of eSkills 
among employees is limited and this may put a brake to further eBusiness developments.  
 
EN 67   EN Croatia 
Description 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 EU27 ranking 
Broadband               
Total DSL coverage (as % of total population)      92.7  
DSL coverage in rural areas (as % of total population)      76.6  Broadband penetration (as % of population)      22.9  Speed - % of broadband subscriptions above 2 Mbps      63.3  % of households with an internet connection    41 45 60  % of households with a broadband connection    23 27 49  % of enterprises with a (fixed) broadband access    80 88 81  % of individuals using a mobile phone via UMTS (3G) to access the Internet    1 2 3  % of indiv. using a laptop via wireless connect. away from home/work to access the inter.    5 9 12  
Internet Usage               
% pop. who are regular internet users (using the internet at least once a week)    32 39 56  
% pop. who are frequent internet users (using the internet every day or almost every day)    21 27 43  % population who have never used the internet    56 54 33  
Take up of internet services (as % of population)        
sending emails    26 31 53  
looking for information about goods and services    30 33 50  uploading self-created content     6 11  ordering goods or services, over the Internet, for private use    7 7 32  reading online newspapers/magazines    17 28 25  selling goods and services (e.g. via auctions)    2 4 10  internet banking    9 13 29  downloading computer or video games or their updates     6 9  downloading/listening to/watching music and/or films     18 28  paying for online audiovisual contents     2 5  listening to the web radio/watching web tv    9 10 20  seeking health information on injury, disease or nutrition    15 20 28  looking for a job or sending a job application    8 11 13  
doing an online course    1 1 3  
seeking information with the purpose of learning    13 17 26  
eGovernment Indicators               
% basic public services for citizens fully available online      51  
% basic public services for enterprises fully available online      72  % of population using eGovernment services    14 12 28   % of population using eGovernment services for returning filled in forms    5 3 12  % of enterprises using eGovernment services    51 57 68   % of enterprises using eGovernment services for returning filled in forms    33 37 50   of which to submit a proposal in a public electronic tender system (e-procurement)    20 17 9  
eCommerce               
eCommerce as % of total turnover of enterprises    3 4 12  
% enterprises selling online    11 16 16  % enterprises purchasing online    19 22 28  
eBusiness: % of enterprises               
using applications for integrating internal business processes (all enterprises)     45 41  
using applications for integrating internal business processes (large enterprises)     68 70  using applications for employees to access Human Resources services     18 11  exchanging automatically business documents with customers/suppliers     32 25  sending/receiving e-invoices    19 25 21  sharing information electronically with customers/suppliers on Supply Chain Manag.     36 16  using analytical Customer Relation Manag.    10 11 17  
Indicators on the ICT sector, ICT skills and R&D               
ICT sector share of total GDP      5.0  
ICT sector share of total employment      2.7  ICT R&D expenditure by the business sector, as % of GDP      0.31  = = = = =, as % of total R&D expenditure      26.4  % of ICT exports on total exports        
% of ICT exports on total imports        
% of persons employed with ICT user skills.     13.6 18.4  % of persons employed with ICT specialist skills     2.0 3.0