Spain, above the EU average in AI adoption

Madrid – 9.2% of Spanish companies adopted Artificial Intelligence (AI) solutions in 2023, above the EU average (8.0%), and Spain’s average annual growth (9.3%) was almost four times higher than the EU average (2.6%).

This is highlighted in the ‘Report on the State of the Digital Decade 2024’ prepared by the European Commission, which states that Spain makes a “positive” contribution to the EU’s ‘Digital Decade’ goal and shows a “very strong” dynamic.

Among Spain’s strengths, the EC cites the adoption of AI by companies and the level of basic digital skills of the population. Specifically, it notes that in 2023, 66.2% of the Spanish population had at least a basic level of basic digital skills, above the EU average (55.6%).

 “In 2023, Spain made notable progress in the use of artificial intelligence by companies, although challenges remain for some indicators related to their digitalization, including the adoption of the cloud. While the number of employed ICT specialists remains low, the overall level of basic digital skills among the population has increased,” the report states.

As “weaknesses” or “areas for improvement,” the European Commission cites the adoption of cloud services by companies, as well as the number of ICT specialists.

First, it assures that “Spain shows a very limited dynamic in the adoption of cloud services,” as only 27.2% of companies in the country use cloud solutions, “well below” the EU average (38.9%). In addition, Spain’s growth rate (0.4%) is lower than the EU’s (7%).

In the case of the number of ICT specialists, it indicates that only 4.4% of the total employed population in Spain are ICT specialists, below the EU average of 4.8%. It also points out that the country sets “a target below EU expectations in its national roadmap.”

 “Spain has set targets for 13 out of the 14 key performance indicators that, overall, are aligned with EU values, except for basic digital skills, which exceed the EU target, and ICT specialists, which are slightly below the EU level of ambition. Spain plans to allocate a total budget (excluding private investments) estimated at 26.7 billion euros (1.8% of GDP),” the report details.

Following the publication of the data, the Spanish Ministry for Digital Transformation and Public Service has stated in a communiqué that the report places Spain in a “favorable strategic position” to achieve the goals set by the European Union.

“Spain excels in connectivity with coverage well above the European average in high-capacity fixed networks and 5G. Specifically, fiber coverage already reaches 95.2% of the population compared to 64% of the European average, a difference that demonstrates the Spanish Government’s determined investment of more than 1 billion euros since 2018 for this objective,” emphasized the department headed by Minister José Luis Escrivá.

The report also indicates that 5G mobile coverage already reaches 92% of the Spanish population, compared to 89% of the European average, and highlights the investment in semiconductors, the deployment of edge nodes, and quantum technologies.

“The business perspective also places the country in a very prominent position, as the digitization level of SMEs is above the EU average, with 61% of SMEs reaching at least a basic level of intensity in 2023, compared to 58% of the European average,” highlighted Digital Transformation. (July 2)