eGovernment Benchmark 2023: Connecting digital governments

Striving towards a digital Europe

This is the 20^th edition of the Commission’s eGovernment Benchmark report, the EC’s annual analysis of digital government through the eyes of citizens and entrepreneurs. It gives a clear picture of how well the European Union is progressing with its ambitious Digital Decade policy program that aims to make key public services in Europe available 100% online by 2030. 

Monitoring eGovernment in 35 European countries, including the 27 European Union Member States, the latest eGovernment Benchmark measured digital services for specific user groups. The report reveals that there is still some way to go to achieve Europe’s digital ambition in certain areas.  

For example, while 84% of services for national users in Europe are fully online, only 49% of services for cross-border users are similarly available. Further, we discover that businesses enjoy better online government services than citizens.

The report also questions whether online services are truly being designed with users in mind, noting that only 74% of citizens interact online with the government.

How we measure eGovernment

These findings are the result of a benchmarking exercise assessing Europe’s government digital transformation progress along the following four dimensions – in order of maturity:

• User centricity – To what extent are services provided online? How mobile friendly are they? And what online support and feedback mechanisms are in place? This dimension has an average maturity score of 90%.
• Key enablers – What technological enablers are in place for the delivery of eGovernment services? With a maturity score of 71%, this dimension shows promising performance.
• Transparency – Are public administrations providing clear, openly communicated information about their digital government strategies and how their services are delivered? Are they transparent about policy making and digital service design processes, as well as about the way people’s personal data is being processed? Currently at 62%, this dimension can be improved upon by consistent service processes that are clear for the user.
• Cross-border services – How easily are citizens from abroad able to access and use the online services? And what online support and feedback mechanisms are there for cross-border users? At 57% overall, this dimension has most room for improvement.

To achieve the ambitions of Europe’s Digital Decade, European governments are urged to bridge the three gaps identified by the eGovernment Benchmark between: cross-border users and national users; citizens and entrepreneurs; and local & regional governments and central governments.

Reimagining public services through user-centricity