COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT DESI 2023 methodological note Accompanying the document Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions Report on the state of the Digital Decade 2023
Date: 2023-09-27
Institutions: Directorate-General for Communications Networks, Content and Technology, European Commission
Subjects: EU programme, digital literacy, digital single market, digital transformation, digitisation, information security, innovation, public service, technological change, transmission network

EN 

  EN 

   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 27.9.2023  SWD(2023) 574 final  COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT DESI 2023 methodological note Accompanying the document Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions Report on the state of the Digital Decade 2023 {COM(2023) 570 final} - {SWD(2023) 570 final} - {SWD(2023) 571 final} - {SWD(2023) 572 final} - {SWD(2023) 573 final}  
 
 
Table of Contents 
1 

The new DESI 2023 ....................................................................................................................... 3 

1.1.1 

1.1.2 

1.1.3 

1.1.4 

1.1.5 

1.1.6 

Digital skills ................................................................................................................... 5 

Digital infrastructures ................................................................................................... 7 

Digital transformation of businesses ............................................................................ 9 

Digitalisation of public services .................................................................................. 10 

Data sources ............................................................................................................... 12 

Data flags .................................................................................................................... 12 

1.2  Methodological considerations .......................................................................................... 12 

1.2.1 

1.2.2 

Indicator requirements .............................................................................................. 12 

Data updates and corrections .................................................................................... 12 

Table of Tables 
Table 1 DESI 2023 dashboard ............................................................................................................... 4 

Table 2 Digital skills indicators ............................................................................................................. 6 

Table 3 Digital infrastructures indicators ............................................................................................. 8 

Table 4 Digital transformation of businesses indicators .................................................................... 10 

Table 5 Digitalisation of public services indicators ............................................................................ 11 

Table 6 Data sources .......................................................................................................................... 13 

 
 
 
 
 
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1  The new DESI 2023 

DESI 2023 
Methodological note  

The Decision establishing the Digital Decade Policy Programme 2030 (the Decision), adopted by the 
Council and the Parliament in December 20221, assigns DESI a new and important role for monitoring 
the progress made by the EU in the context of the Digital Decade. According to the Decision, “DESI 
should be integrated into the report on the state of the Digital Decade (the ‘Report on the Digital 
Decade’), and should be used to monitor progress towards the digital targets” (the Decision, Recital 
24). DESI is defined as "an annual set of analyses and measurement indicators on the basis of which 
the  Commission  monitors  the  Union’s  and  the Member  States’  overall  digital performance  across 
several policy dimensions, including their progress towards the digital targets set out in Article 4" 
(the Decision, Art. 2(1)). 

The  implementation  of  the  DDPP  is  causing  a  transition  from  a  strategy  primarily  centered  on 
assessing a country's comparative performance each year in pursuit of identifying the best practices, 
to  an  approach  that  evaluates  the  combined  countries’  effort  aimed  at  closing  the  gap  towards 
achieving  the  2030  Digital  Decade  targets  and  general  objectives.  In  this  common  project,  each 
country should contribute to the best of its abilities, taking into account “different potential, and the 
different starting points, of individual Member States”, and its contribution should be “reflected in 
the national projected trajectories” (the Decision, recital 30).  

To implement the Digital Decade Policy Programme, Member States should prepare and submit to 
the Commission their national strategic roadmaps covering the period up to 2030 including, where 
possible and measurable at  national level, national projected  trajectories  and  all the instruments 
planned, adopted or implemented to contribute to the achievement of the targets and objectives of 
the Decision. The national projected trajectories are the key element of the common programme 
helping to assess the progress over time at the Union and national level.  

With the establishment of the trajectories, the Decision introduces the need of assessing progress 
over time at the Union and national level, with particular emphasis on the progress estimated until 
2030.   

In line with Art. 2(1), DESI 2023 is based on a set of indicators providing a multi-dimensional, detailed 
picture of the collective, annual progress made by the EU towards the 2030 goals.  

Therefore, the DESI 2023 consists of a dashboard of indicators that have been further aligned with 
the  digital  targets  set  out  in  the  Decision  and,  for  each  digital  target,  all  the  key  performance 
indicators (KPIs) set out in the Commission Implementing Decision2, for which national level values 
are available, are included.  

DESI 2023  includes  relevant  indicators  providing  a  comprehensive  assessment  of  the  level of  the 
country’s digital performance. In absence of national level roadmaps and trajectories, DESI 2023 can 
be seen as setting the scene for the next years of cooperation between the Commission and Member 
States towards the digital transformation of the Union.  

The  DESI  2023  indicators  dashboard  includes  a total  of 32  indicators,  eleven  of  which  are  Digital 
Decade KPIs (Table 1). To allow for a clear connection between indicators and associated targets, 
indicators are grouped into dimensions, related to the Digital Decade targets, and sub-dimensions, 
populated by KPIs and auxiliary related indicators. 

1 Decision (EU) 2022/2481 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 December 2022 establishing 
the Digital Decade Policy Programme 2030 (Text with EEA relevance), OJ L 323, 19.12.2022, p. 4–26 
2 Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2023/1353 of 30 June 2023 setting out key performance indicators 
to measure the progress towards the digital targets established by Article 4(1) of Decision (EU) 2022/2481 of 
the European Parliament and of the Council. 

2 

 
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DESI 2023 
Methodological note  
Most of the indicators are collected by the relevant authorities of the Member States and by the 
Commission  (Directorate-General  for  Communications  Networks,  Content  and  Technology  and 
Eurostat) and, in few cases, by ad hoc studies launched by the Commission. 

Table 1 DESI 2023 dashboard  

Dimension 

Sub-dimension 

Indicator 

1 Digital skills 

1a Internet user skills 

1a1 Internet use 

2 Digital 
infrastructures 

3 Digital 
transformation of 
businesses 

4 Digitalisation of 
public services 

1a2 At least basic digital skills 

1a3 Above basic digital skills 

1a4 At least basic digital content creation skills 

1a5 Enterprises providing ICT training  

1b Advanced skills and 
development 

1b1 ICT specialists 

1b2 ICT graduates 

2a Fixed broadband 

2a1 At least 100 Mbps broadband take-up 

2a2 At least 1 Gbps broadband take-up 

2a3 Fixed Very High Capacity Network (VHCN) coverage 

2a4 Fibre to the Premises (FTTP) coverage 

2b Mobile broadband 

2b1 Mobile broadband take-up 

2b2 Overall 5G coverage 

2b3 5G spectrum 

3a Digital intensity 

3a1 SMEs with at least a basic level of digital intensity 

3b Digital technologies for 
businesses 

3b1 Electronic information sharing 

3b2 Social media 

3b3 Big data 

3b4 Cloud 

3b5 AI 

3b6 e-Invoices 

3b e-Commerce 

3c1 SMEs selling online 

3c2 e-Commerce turnover 

3c3 Selling online cross-border 

4a e-Government 

4a1 e-Government users3 

4a2 Digital public services for citizens 

4a3 Digital public services for businesses 

4a4 Pre-filled forms 

4a5 Transparency of service delivery, design and personal 
data 
4a6 User support 

4a7 Mobile friendliness 

4b e-Health 

4b1 Access to e-health records 

3 The eGoverment users indicator included in DESI 2023 is defined as “Internet use: website or app of public 
authorities (last 12 months)”. It replaces the previous one that included website of public authorities only and 
was discontinued by Eurostat.  

3 

 
 
 
 
 
 
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1.1.1  Digital skills 

Table 2 Digital skills indicators 

Indicator 

Description 

Unit 

Source 

1a1 Internet use 

Individuals who use the internet at least once a 
week 

% individuals 

1a2 At least basic 
digital skills 

1a3 Above basic 
digital skills 

1a4 At least basic 
digital content 
creation skills 
1a5 Enterprises 
providing ICT 
training  
1b1 ICT specialists 

1b2 ICT graduates 

Individuals with ‘basic’ or ‘above basic’ digital skills 
in each of the following five dimensions: 
information, and data literacy, communication and 
collaboration, problem solving, digital content 
creation and safety 
Individuals with ‘above basic’ digital skills in each 
of the following five dimensions: information, and 
data literacy, communication and collaboration, 
problem solving, digital content creation and 
safety 
Individuals with at a basic level of skills in using 
software for digital content creation 

% individuals 

Enterprises who provided training in ICT to their 
personnel 

% enterprises 

Employed ICT specialists. Broad definition based 
on the ISCO-08 classification and including jobs like 
ICT service managers, ICT professionals, ICT 
technicians, ICT installers and servicers. 
Persons with a degree in ICT 

% of total 
employment  

% graduates 

% individuals 

Eurostat – European Union survey on the use of ICT 
in Households and by individuals (ISOC_CI_IFP_FU 
[I_IUSE]) 
Eurostat – European Union survey on the use of ICT 
in Households and by Individuals 
(ISOC_SK_DSKL_I21 [I_DSK2_BAB]) 

% individuals 

Eurostat – European Union survey on the use of ICT 
in Households and by Individuals 
(ISOC_SK_DSKL_I21 [I_DSK2_AB]) 

Eurostat – European Union survey on the use of ICT 
in Households and by Individuals 
(ISOC_SK_DSKL_I21 [I_DSK2_DCC_BAB]) 
Eurostat – European Union survey on ICT usage and 
eCommerce in Enterprises (ISOC_SKE_ITTN2 
[E_ITT2]) 
Eurostat – Labour force survey (isoc_sks_itspt) 

Eurostat (table educ_uoe_grad03, using selection 
[ISCED11=ED5-8] and [ISCEDF_13=F06 Information 
and Communication Technologies] 

DESI 2023 
Methodological note 

Reference year 
(latest available 
year with 
comparable 
values across 
the EU) 
2022 

2021 

2021 

2021 

2022 

2022 

2021 

4 

 
 
 
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DESI 2023 
Methodological note 

The digital skills group of indicators assesses both internet user skills of citizens and the number of specialists with advanced digital skills. At least basic digital skills 
and ICT specialists measure targets of the Digital Decade Policy Programme. 

5 

 
 
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1.1.2  Digital infrastructures 

Table 3 Digital infrastructures indicators4 

Indicator 

Description 

Unit 

Source 

2a1 At least 100 
Mbps broadband 
take-up 

2a2 At least 1 Gbps 
broadband take-up 

2a3 Fixed Very 
High Capacity 
Network (VHCN) 
coverage 
2a4 Fibre to the 
Premises (FTTP) 
coverage 
2b1 Mobile 
broadband take-up 

2b2 Overall 5G 
coverage 

2b3 5G spectrum 

% of households subscribing to fixed broadband 
of at least 100 Mbps, calculated as overall 
broadband take-up multiplied with the 
percentage of fixed broadband lines of at least 
100 Mbps (source: COCOM) 
% of households subscribing to fixed broadband 
of at least 1 Gbps, calculated as overall 
broadband take-up multiplied with the 
percentage of fixed broadband lines of at least 1 
Gbps (source: COCOM) 
% of households covered by any fixed VHCN. The 
technologies considered are FTTH and FTTB for 
2017-2018 and FTTH, FTTB and Cable DOCSIS 3.1 
for 2019 onwards (source: EUROSTAT ISOC_CBT)  
% of households covered by FTTH and FTTB 
(source: EUROSTAT ISOC_CBT) 

% households 

European Commission through the Communications 
Committee (COCOM) and Eurostat – European 
Union survey on the use of ICT in households and by 
individuals 

% households 

European Commission through the Communications 
Committee (COCOM) and Eurostat – European 
Union survey on the use of ICT in households and by 
individuals 

% households 

Broadband coverage in Europe studies for the 
European Commission by Omdia and Point Topic 

% households 

Broadband coverage in Europe studies for the 
European Commission by Omdia and Point Topic 

Individuals who used the internet on a mobile 
device 

% individuals 

% of populated areas with coverage by at least 
one 5G mobile network (source: EUROSTAT 
ISOC_CBT) 
The amount of spectrum assigned and ready for 
5G use within the so-called 5G pioneer bands. 

% populated 
areas 

Eurostat – European Union survey on the use of ICT 
in households and by individuals (ISOC_CI_DEV_I 
[I_IUG_MD]) 
Broadband coverage in Europe studies for the 
European Commission by Omdia and Point Topic 

Assigned 
spectrum as a 

European Commission services, through the 
Communications Committee (COCOM) 

DESI 2023 
Methodological note 

Reference year 
(latest available 
year with 
comparable 
values across 
the EU)  
2022 

2022 

2022 

2022 

2021 

2022 

2023 

4 Please note that indicator’s values from both COCOM and Omdia/Point Topic can be slightly revised backwards at the request of the MS’s National Regulatory Authorities. For this 
reason, time series included in previous versions of the DESI may not fully match with the ones reported in DESI 2023.  

6 

 
 
 
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DESI 2023 
Methodological note 

These bands are 700 MHz (703-733 MHz and 
758-788 MHz), 3.6 GHz (3400-3800 MHz) and 26 
GHz (1000 MHz within 24250-27500 MHz). All 
three spectrum bands have an equal weight5 

% of total 
harmonised 5G 
spectrum 

Under this group of indicators, both fixed and mobile broadband are analysed with indicators measuring the supply and the demand side. Fixed VHCN and 5G coverage 
measure targets of the Digital Decade Policy Programme. 

5 Data on 5G spectrum are not published by Eurostat. 

7 

 
 
 
 
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1.1.3  Digital transformation of businesses 

Table 4 Digital transformation of businesses indicators 

Indicator 

Description 

Unit 

Source 

The digital intensity score is based on counting 
how many out of 12 selected technologies are 
used by enterprises. A basic level requires usage 
of at least 4 technologies.  
Enterprises who have in use an ERP (enterprise 
resource planning) software package to share 
information between different functional areas 
(e.g. accounting, planning, production, 
marketing) 
Enterprises using two or more of the following 
social media: social networks, enterprise’s blog 
or microblog, multimedia content sharing 
websites, wiki-based knowledge sharing tools. 
Using social media means that the enterprise has 
a user profile, an account or a user license 
depending on the requirements and the type of 
the social media.  
Enterprises analysing big data from any data 
source 

3a1 SMEs with at 
least a basic level 
of digital intensity 

3b1 Electronic 
information 
sharing 

3b2 Social media 

3b3 Big data 

3b4 Cloud 

3b5 AI 

% SMEs 

Eurostat - European Union survey on ICT usage and 
e-commerce in Enterprises (ISOC_E_DII [E_DI4_LO + 
E_DI4_HI + E_DI4_VHI]) 

% enterprises 

Eurostat - European Union survey on ICT usage and 
e-commerce in Enterprises (ISOC_EB_IIPN2 
[E_ERP1]) 

% enterprises 

Eurostat – European Union survey on ICT usage and 
e-commerce in Enterprises (ISOC_CISMT 
[E_SM1_GE2]) 

% enterprises 

Enterprises buying sophisticated or intermediate 
cloud computing services 

% enterprises 

Enterprises using any AI technology 

% enterprises 

Eurostat - European Union survey on ICT usage and 
e-commerce in Enterprises (ISOC_EB_BD [E_BDA]) 
Eurostat - European Union survey on ICT usage and 
e-commerce in enterprises (ISOC_CICCE_USE  
[E_CC1_SI]) 
Eurostat - European Union survey on ICT usage and 
e-commerce in enterprises (ISOC_EB_AI 
[E_AI_TANY]) 

DESI 2023 
Methodological note 

Reference year  
(latest 
available year 
with 
comparable 
values across 
the EU) 
2022 

2021 

2021 

2020 

2021 

2021 

8 

 
 
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DESI 2023 
Methodological note 

3b6 e-Invoices 

3c1 SMEs selling 
online 

3c2 e-Commerce 
turnover 

3c3 Selling online 
cross-border 

Enterprises sending e-invoices, suitable for 
automated processing 

% enterprises 

SMEs selling online (at least 1% of turnover)6 

% SMEs 

SMEs’ total turnover from e-commerce7 

SMEs that carried out electronic sales to other 
EU countries8 

% SME 
turnover 

% SMEs 

Eurostat - European Union survey on ICT usage and 
e-commerce in Enterprises (ISOC_EB_ICSN2 
[E_INV4S_AP]) 
Eurostat – European Union survey on ICT usage and 
e-commerce in Enterprises (ISOC_EC_ESELS 
[E_ESELL]) 
Eurostat – European Union survey on ICT usage and 
e-commerce in Enterprises 
(ISOC_EC_EVALS[E_ETURN]) 
Eurostat – European Union survey on ICT usage and 
e-commerce in Enterprises 
(ISOC_EC_ESELS[E_AESEU]) 

2020 

2022 

2022 

2021 

The  Digital transformation  of  businesses  group of  indicators  is made  up  of 3  sub-groups:  digital  intensity,  take-up of  selected technologies  by  enterprises and  e-
commerce. SMEs with at least a basic level of digital intensity, take-up of Big data, Cloud and AI are targets of the Digital Decade Policy Programme. 

1.1.4  Digitalisation of public services 
Table 5 Digitalisation of public services indicators 

Indicator 

Description 

Unit 

Source9 

4a1 e-Government 
users 

4a2 Digital public 
services for citizens 

4a3 Digital public 
services for 
businesses 

Individuals who used the Internet, in the last 12 
months, for interaction with public authorities on 
websites or on mobile applications 
The share of administrative steps that can be 
done online for major life events (birth of a child, 
new residence, etc.) for citizens 
The indicator broadly reflects the share of public 
services needed for starting a business and 
conducting regular business operations that are 

% internet 
users 

Score (0 to 
100) 

Score (0 to 
100) 

Eurostat – European Union survey on the use of ICT 
in households and by individuals (ISOC_CIEGI_AC 
[I_IGOVANYS]) 
e-Government Benchmark 2023 

e-Government Benchmark 2023 

Reference year 
(latest available 

year with 
comparable values 
across the EU) 

2022 

2022 

2022 

6 Data for e-commerce refer to the calendar year prior to the survey, e.g. 2022 data refer to 2021 e-commerce. 
7 Data for e-commerce refer to the calendar year prior to the survey, e.g. 2022 data refer to 2021 e-commerce. 
8 Data for e-commerce refer to the calendar year prior to the survey, e.g. 2021 data refer to 2020 e-commerce. 
9 Eurostat dataset code in brackets with indicator filter in squared brackets. 

9 

 
 
 
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DESI 2023 
Methodological note 

available online for domestic as well as foreign 
users. Services provided through a portal receive 
a higher score, services which provide only 
information (but have to be completed offline) 
receive a more limited score. 

4a4 Pre-filled forms  Amount of data that is pre-filled in public service 

4a5 Transparency 
of service delivery, 
design and 
personal data 
4a6 User support 

4a7 Mobile 
friendliness 

4b1 Citizens’ online 
access to electronic 
health records 
(short name = 
Access to e-Health 
records) 

online forms 
The extent to which service processes are 
transparent, services are designed with user 
involvement and users can manage their personal 
data 
The extent to which online support, help features, 
and feedback mechanisms are available incl. 
cross-border 
The extent to which services are provided 
through a mobile friendly interface, an interface 
that is responsive to the mobile device 
Measured as: (i) the nationwide availability of 
online access services for citizens to their 
electronic health records data (via a patient 
portal, or a patient mobile app) with additional 
measures in place that enable certain categories 
of people (e.g. guardians for children, people with 
disabilities, elderly) to also access their data, and 
(ii) the percentage of individuals that have the 
ability to obtain or make use of their own 
minimum set of health-related data currently 
stored in public and private electronic health-
record (EHR) systems. 

Score (0 to 
100) 
Score (0 to 
100) 

Score (0 to 
100) 

Score (0 to 
100) 

e-Government Benchmark 2023 

e-Government Benchmark 2023 

e-Government Benchmark 2023 

e-Government Benchmark 2023 

Score (0 to 
100) 

Service contract for the European Commission by: 
Empirica GmbH and PredictBy 

2022 

2022 

2022 

2022 

2022 

The digitalisation of public services group of indicators describes the demand and supply of e-government as well as e-health. The Digital public services for citizens 
and businesses and the access to e-health records are indicators assessing targets of the Digital Decade Policy Programme. 

10 

 
 
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1.1.5  Data sources  

DESI 2023 
Methodological note  

Most  of  the  data  in  the  DESI  2023  have  been  collected  directly  by  national  authorities,  like  the 
National  Statistical  Institutes  coordinated  by Eurostat  or  National Regulatory  Authorities.  Table  6 
presents the data sources and the role of national authorities in data collection and validation. 

Table 6 Data sources 

Data source 

Data collection process 

Eurostat 

Communications Committee (COCOM) 

Broadband coverage studies 

e-Government benchmark 

Data  collected  by  National  Statistical  Authorities  and  verified 
by the National Statistical Authorities and Eurostat. 

Data  collected  and  verified  by  the  national  regulatory 
authorities (by data experts appointed by the members of the 
Communications Committee in every Member State). 

Data  collected  by  IHS  Markit,  Omdia  and  Point  Topic  and 
verified by the national regulatory authorities (by data experts 
appointed by the members of the Communications Committee 
in every Member State). 

Data collected by Capgemini and verified by relevant ministries 
in every Member State. 

Study for Digital Decade e-Health Indicators 
Development 

Data collected by Empirica from representatives appointed by 
the relevant ministries in every Member State. 

1.1.6  Data flags 

A  limited  number  of  data  points  include  explanatory  notes  (data  flags),  which  can  be  consulted 
directly  on  the  website  of  Eurostat  at  https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/digital-economy-and-
society. In particular, there is break in the series for the ICT specialists and Female ICT specialists 
indicators. 

1.2  Methodological considerations 

1.2.1 

Indicator requirements 

To be included in the DESI dashboard, indicators shall comply with the following requirements: 

•  Must be collected on a regular basis. In order to fulfil the monitoring function, the 

indicators used in the dashboard must be collected ideally on a yearly basis (or at least with 
a pre-defined regularity10). 

•  Must be relevant for a policy area of interest. All indicators in the dashboard must be 

accepted as relevant metrics in their specific policy areas. 

1.2.2  Data updates and corrections 

Updates and corrections are part of the lifecycle and nature of statistical data especially in the digital 
sector that is a rapidly moving environment. This is the case of several DESI indicators. There can be 
several reasons for such restatements. For example, it is typical that the values for one indicator 

10 For the data sources mentioned under 1.1.7, annual data collection exercises are foreseen, except some of 
the  data  collected and verified by the national statistical offices or by Eurostat which  may collected with a 
lower frequency.  

11 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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DESI 2023 
Methodological note  
undergo small amendments and only stabilise completely even long after the indicator was originally 
computed.  Member  States  can  also  update  their  own  methodology  to  collect  the  data  for  the 
indicators  on  which  they  report,  for  example  to  Eurostat,  and  revise  backward  the  figures.  Such 
revisions may impact country rankings based on individual indicators.   

The present report considers updates that were reported to the European Commission prior to May 
15,  2023,  for  all  indicators  that  had  updated  data  or  were  new  with  respect  to  the  DESI  2022 
edition11. Any changes made after this date are not considered in the current version of DESI. For 
indicators  where  no  new  data  was  provided  by  the  respective  data  source  in  2023,  the  values 
published in DESI 2022 are utilized. 

11 With the only exception on the indicator Access to e-Health records for which a revision has been transmitted 
in July 2023.  

12