If we refer to the Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI), which was commissioned by the European Commission, Spain has improved its position among the 28 member states of the European Union (EU): from 15th place in the year 2014 to 10th in the year 2018, above Germany and France (European Commission, 2018). The DESI is a synthetic index that summarises some 30 relevant indicators relating to advances in digitalisation in Europe, grouped into five dimensions: connectivity, human capital, use of Internet services, integration of digital technology and digital public services.
According to this index, in the year 2018 Spain stood above the European average in connectivity (fixed and mobile broadband, fast and ultrafast broadband, prices) and it stood out in integration of digital technology and in digital public services, but it fell below average in human capital the use of Internet services (figure 1).

Digital public services (e-administration) constitute the dimension in which Spain stands out most, since it occupies position number 4 within the EU, only behind Finland, Estonia and Denmark. Spain also stands out, occupying post number 7, in integration of digital technology, this being the dimension in which it has most advanced in recent years.
When we refer to the integration of digital technology, we establish two major sections: on the one hand, the digitalisation of companies, above all related with the media, electronic information, etc.; and on the other, e-commerce, i.e. online sales or internet businesses, which includes access to foreign markets. Spain stands out in the first section, while it lags behind in the second due to the weakness shown by small- and medium-sized companies in adapting to the digital economy, because of a lack of knowledge regarding its potential, and the scarce resources assigned to access and training.
Among the dimensions in which Spain falls below the EU average according to the DESI, it is worth highlighting human capital, which includes the knowledge and use of basic and advanced computer tools.
The report reveals that barely 55% of people aged between 16 and 74 years have basic digital skills and that specialists in ICT represent just 3% of the population in employment. This important shortfall derives, in part, from the education system, but also from a production model that sustains a high number of unstable jobs that do not contribute to knowledge and skills acquisition while on the job.
As for the use of Internet services, in other words, communicating, consuming contents from the Internet or using online banking, although overall Spain stands somewhat below the EU average, in many of its indicators the differences are small.
Other reports offer a less optimistic view of digitalisation in Spain than that offered by the DESI. For example, Digital Economic Opportunity, which is produced by Accenture and Oxford Economics (Accenture and MWCB 2017), situates Spain in position number 11 out of the 14 countries analysed, below and lagging a long way behind the United States, the United Kingdom, Sweden and the Netherlands, to mention the four countries that lead the ranking. Furthermore, Spain’s score fell between 2014 and 2016.
This fall in position is the result of numerous causes, from which the report highlights the following:
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A low level of digital knowledge on the part of the population, which is compounded by a lack of investment in digital training by businesses.
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A lack of vision and clear strategies on digitalisation, with few investments in this respect.
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An excessively rigid regulatory framework.
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Low investment in innovation and difficult access to funding have also not helped the digital transformation in Spain.
The DESI report also indicates that, in Spain, the weight of the ITC sector in the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) falls below the average of the EU (in the year 2015 it occupied 20th position among the 28 member states). Furthermore, Spain scores below average when referring to participation of the ICT sector in total employment, in this case finding itself in 19th position (EC 2018).
In a similar sense, data are shown on investment in RDI – a key element in the digitalisation process – and on the necessary investment in the production structure. While the majority of countries in the EU have increased their investment in RDI since the peak of the crisis (although only Sweden, Germany, Austria and Denmark exceeded 3% of GDP in 2017), in Spain this investment has fallen from 1.36% of GDP in 2010 to 1.21% in 2017, having exceeded 1.3% of GDP only between 2009 and 2011. To sum up, in 2016 Spain invested 283.6 euros per inhabitant in RDI, a figure much lower than the average of the EU and the Eurozone (587.7 and 654.8 euros, respectively).
