site.btaBulgaria, Greece Lag Behind in Adopting Digital Technologies in Economy, Society, EU Report Says

Sofia, November 13 (BTA) - Bulgaria ranks 26th (along with Greece) among the 27 EU member states in the ranking of the Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI) for 2021, the European Commission said.

In terms of human capital, Bulgaria's level is still among the lowest in the EU. People with at least basic digital skills account for 29 per cent of Bulgaria's population aged 16 to 74, compared to an EU average of 56 per cent. Businesses still have difficulty finding qualified staff to innovate and grow, according to the report.      

In terms of connectivity, Bulgaria reaches only 59 per cent of broadband internet access subscribers (EU average: 77 per cent), and lags behind in the distribution of fixed broadband internet access at a speed of at least 100 megabits per second (15 per cent, compared to the EU average of 34 per cent). Mobile broadband has a high level of coverage with 4G networks, but the coverage with 5G networks is zero per cent for 2020 compared to an average of 14 per cent for the EU.    

The prevalence of mobile broadband internet access is still low at 63 per cent (compared to an average of 71 per cent for the EU). The readiness to enter 5G is now 20.55 percent, compared to an average of 39 percent for the EU.

Regarding the integration of digital technologies by enterprises in Bulgaria, the picture is mixed, according to EC experts. The state is investing in research and digital infrastructure, but their impact would increase if more businesses were encouraged to use them. The use of artificial intelligence in Bulgaria is more widespread than the EU average. On the other hand, most small and medium-sized enterprises still do not conduct e-commerce: 8 per cent of Bulgarian SMEs sell online, 3 per cent make cross-border sales, and 8 per cent of turnover is from the online segment (these values are approximately half of the corresponding EU averages).    

Regarding digital public administration, outdated legislation remains a major obstacle. Consumers of e-government services make up only 36 per cent of Internet users (EU average: 64 per cent), and digital public services for citizens are rated 57 out of 100 (EU average: 75). Nevertheless, digital public services for businesses and the use of open data by public administrations are slightly above the EU average.

There are still delays in the implementation of electronic identification and electronic signatures, although other means of identification are available. Priority was given to e-health decision support systems to support health administration processes and the COVID-19 vaccination campaign, the report says.    

The overall level of basic digital skills in Bulgaria is the lowest in the EU; the share of people with at least basic skills in the field of digital technologies amounts to 29 per cent of the Bulgarian population aged 16 to 74, while the EU average is 56 per cent. Only 11 per cent of people have above-basic skills, which is just under a third of the EU average.