Inequalities in digital development of European Union countries
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.15584/nsawg.2021.2.3Keywords:
digital development, inequalities, digital exclusionAbstract
The aim of the article is to assess the degree of differentiation of digital development in the European Union countries and to determine the factors that differentiate them. The research is based on data from Eurostat databases. The analysis included 20 indicators describing individual aspects of the digital development of countries, i.e. the use of digital technologies by individuals and households, activities of individuals in the field of e-administration, Internet use, ICT usage in enterprises and the information and communication technologies (ICT) sector. The study was conducted for all European Union countries, except for Malta, for which the data was found to be too deficient.
In order to comprehensively present the problem of differentiation in the digital development of the studied European Union countries, the methods of linear and non-linear ordering were used. Linear ordering made it possible to indicate the position of individual countries in relation to the others due to digital development and its individual elements, while non-linear ordering allowed for their grouping into homogeneous groups using the full set of diagnostic variables.
The conducted research confirmed the existence of significant disproportions in the digital development of the European Union countries and the still large spatial differentiation in the level of digital development between the southern and northern parts of the community. The analysis of inequalities within individual areas showed that the disproportions in access to the Internet and the necessary equipment are much smaller than the level of inequality related to the use of digital technologies in enterprises or in the public space. This implies efforts to strengthen digital skills.
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