Four EU Countries Have Already Met the 2030 Digital Skills Target
Silver Data Lab Research Desk · Statistical analysis · Published on 20 April 2026
- Data source
- Eurostat
- Reference period
- 2025
- Last updated
- 20 April 2026
Key estimates
- 60.4% of people in the EU had at least basic overall digital skills in 2025, against the 80% the Union targets for 2030.
- The Netherlands at 83.6%, Ireland at 82.8%, Denmark at 81.5% and Finland at 81.0% are already past the target.
- Romania records 31.8% and Bulgaria 38.3%: fewer than two people in five.
- The 51.8 point spread between the Netherlands and Romania is the widest on any indicator in this category.
- The measure requires competence across five separate skill areas, so it is stricter than it sounds.
A target with four countries already past it and a long tail behind
The European Union aims for 80% of its adult population to have at least basic digital skills by 2030. In 2025 the figure was 60.4%.
Unlike most EU targets, this one already has countries on the far side of it. The Netherlands records 83.6%, Ireland 82.8%, Denmark 81.5% and Finland 81.0%. Four Member States have met a 2030 objective five years early.
The distance behind them is the story.
What the measure actually requires
The indicator is stricter than the phrase basic digital skills suggests. It assesses five separate areas — information and data literacy, communication and collaboration, digital content creation, safety, and problem solving — and counts a person only if they reach at least basic level in all five.
Someone confident with email and online banking but unable to handle privacy settings does not count. That construction is why a figure of 60.4% coexists with internet use rates above 90% across most of the Union: using the internet and having the skills the indicator measures are different thresholds.
The tail
Romania records 31.8%, the lowest in the Union, and Bulgaria 38.3%. Both are below two people in five.
Above them, Slovenia at 46.5% and Latvia at 48.4% are the surprise. Slovenia is a high-income Member State with a GDP per capita of 90 on the EU index, and it sits fourth from bottom on digital skills — below Poland, Greece and Lithuania, all of which are poorer on that measure.
That combination rules out the simplest explanation. Digital skills do not track income closely enough for income to be the whole account, and Slovenia is the case that makes the point without ambiguity.
The size of the spread
The distance between the Netherlands at 83.6% and Romania at 31.8% is 51.8 percentage points — the widest range of any indicator in this category, wider than research spending, ICT employment or online purchasing.
For a Union with a single digital market and a common 2030 objective, a spread of that size means the target is not one target. For the four countries already past it, the remaining question is what comes after 80%. For Romania, reaching 80% by 2030 would require adding roughly as many people to the skilled population as it currently has in it.
Basic or above basic digital skills, 2025
| Country | % of individuals | Gap to EU averagepercentage points, derived |
|---|---|---|
| Netherlands | 83.6 | +23.2 |
| Ireland | 82.8 | +22.4 |
| Denmark | 81.5 | +21.1 |
| European Unionaggregate | 60.4 | — |
| Slovenia | 46.5 | −13.9 |
| Bulgaria | 38.3 | −22.1 |
| Romania | 31.8 | −28.6 |
What these figures cannot tell you
- Self-assessment, not a test
- The indicator is built from survey questions about what respondents say they have done, not from a skills examination. It measures reported activity, and cultural differences in how people describe their own competence may affect comparisons between countries.
- All five components must be met
- A person counts only if they reach at least basic level in every one of the five skill areas. Someone strong in four and weak in one is excluded, which makes the headline figure substantially lower than measures of general internet use and means the indicator is sensitive to which component is weakest.
- The framework changed in 2021
- The current measure applies from 2021 onwards and is not comparable with the digital skills series published before it. Trends spanning that break are not available from this dataset.
- The 80% target is a Union-level objective
- The Digital Decade target applies to the EU as a whole rather than to each Member State individually. Comparing national figures against it, as this study does, is a useful benchmark and not a measure of compliance.
Frequently asked questions
- What share of Europeans have basic digital skills?
- 60.4% in 2025, measured across the whole adult population. The EU targets 80% by 2030, and four Member States — the Netherlands, Ireland, Denmark and Finland — are already above it.
- What counts as basic digital skills?
- At least basic competence in all five areas of the EU digital competence framework: information and data literacy, communication and collaboration, digital content creation, safety, and problem solving. Someone who falls short in any one area is not counted.
- Which EU country has the lowest digital skills?
- Romania, at 31.8% in 2025, followed by Bulgaria at 38.3%, Slovenia at 46.5% and Latvia at 48.4%. Slovenia is the case that resists an income-based explanation: it is a relatively wealthy Member State ranking fourth from bottom.
- Why is the digital skills figure lower than internet use?
- Because they measure different thresholds. Internet use records whether someone has been online; this indicator requires demonstrated competence across five distinct skill areas, including safety and problem solving. Being online and clearing all five bars are not the same thing.
Methodological note
The indicator is Eurostat's share of individuals with basic or above basic overall digital skills, which requires at least basic competence in all five component areas of the digital competence framework: information and data literacy, communication and collaboration, digital content creation, safety, and problem solving.
Values are for the total adult population in 2025, the most recent year with complete coverage of the 27 Member States at the extraction date.
The 51.8 point spread and the comparison between Slovenia's digital skills ranking and its GDP per capita position are derived by Silver Data Lab; the GDP figure comes from the companion study in the economy and finance category.
Source data
The underlying series can be inspected and re-downloaded from the Eurostat data browser. The filters below are the ones applied.
Individuals' level of digital skills (from 2021 onwards)
isoc_sk_dskl_i21
- Filters applied:
- freq=A · ind_type=IND_TOTAL · indic_is=I_DSK2_BAB · unit=PC_IND · time=2025
- Extracted:
- 2026-08-11
- Source last updated:
- 2026-04-17
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