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DESI assessment: The Czech Republic is doing well in digital education and eGovernment usage

by AI | 02.Jul 2024 | Europe in brief AI

The country, on the other hand, is troubled by a shortage of information technology experts and lags behind in the implementation of pre-filled forms.

The woman is writing on a tablet – illustrative photo. Photo: Mohssen Assanimoghaddam/dpa

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Prague – The Czech Republic has improved in the EU DESI ranking, which monitors the progress of member states in digitizing public administration. It excels in digital skills, the use of eGovernment services, and the coverage of mobile 5G networks. On the other hand, the country suffers from a lack of IT specialists and lags in introducing pre-filled forms. The press release was announced today by the office of Deputy Prime Minister for Digitization Ivan Bartoš (Pirates).

The current Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI) is based on data for the year 2023, with some data from 2022. “The DESI index is a summary of indicators that show us which areas of digitization to focus on and where we have the greatest reserves,” said Martin Mesršmíd, Director of the Digital and Information Agency (DIA). According to the DESI index, the Czech Republic is doing best in digital skills, where it improved in the ranking by 17 percent. According to him, more than 69 percent of people in the Czech Republic have basic digital skills. This is well above the EU average of 55.6 percent. The country also achieves above-average results in the use of state digital services, the so-called eGovernment.

The Czech Republic earned better ratings in business and commercial operations, placing eighth, while in 2022 it was in 14th position. The country has also improved in digitizing public administration in matters related to changing residence, transportation, and justice. However, the Czech Republic is lagging in the use of pre-filled forms. According to this criterion, it ranks at the end of the table. The Law on the Right to Digital Services, which will take effect in February next year, could help improve this. Its goal is for all government services that can be digitized to be fully digital.

The Czech problems include wages for workers in information and communication technologies (ICT) and difficulties recruiting them into the state administration. Currently, the salary conditions for these specialists in the state administration are significantly worse than those of their counterparts in the private sector. Because of this, the state often fails to employ these specialists and must resort to using external services.

The Digital Decade Report (DESI) assesses the progress of the European Union and its member states in digital transformation. It monitors digital skills and education, the development of digital infrastructure, the digital transformation of businesses, and the digitization of public services.

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