Adriana Sas
Research expert covering the Polish market
Digital services in Poland - statistics & facts
The COVID-19 pandemic has reshaped many people's lives and accelerated the growth of digital services in Poland. The increasing demand for electronically delivered information has led to the proliferation of services associated with an information society. Today, digital services are a part of every aspect of life, and the pandemic has only reinforced this trend.
The underperformance in digital competencies presents a significant challenge for the economy and society. It creates barriers to the labor market and increases the risk of digital exclusion. To address this, Poland needs to make changes in its education system. The situation can also be improved by leveraging EU funds earmarked for projects aimed at bridging the competence gap among Poles, thereby turning this challenge into an opportunity for growth and development.
Poles willing to use e-services of public administration
Effective digital public services or e-government can bring many benefits. These include greater efficiency and savings for governments and businesses, increased transparency, and greater citizen participation in political life. Poland has seen a breakthrough in developing online public services over the past few years. Work on the development of public e-government accelerated rapidly after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, Poles can use such e-services as electronic PIT settlements, electronic prescriptions, or medical consultations. In addition, there has been a significant increase in the number of Poles using public administration e-services. In 2016, 0.4 million citizens had a Profil Zaufany eGO (Trusted Profile), while by April 2023, as many as 16 million. While there has been a positive trend in citizens' use of e-government services and offices' provision of these services, Poland still has a long way to go. This is evident from the e-Government Development Index (EGDI) for 2022, which ranked Poland 34th among 193 countries in terms of the level of development of e-Government services. Poland dropped ten positions compared to the previous year, highlighting the need for further development.Poles at the tail end of Europe in terms of digital competence
Poland has one of Europe's highest internet access rates, over 93 percent. Nevertheless, the results of the Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI) show that Poland was ranked fourth from the bottom in terms of digital competencies of the population in 2022. According to the report, basic digital competencies were possessed by about 43 percent of the population and advanced competencies by almost 21 percent. By comparison, the European Union average for basic digital competencies was nearly 54 percent, and for advanced digital competencies, 26.5 percent. Poles fared slightly better in basic digital content creation, meaning more than 57 percent of Poles are good at using digital tools to create content such as films, photos, and music.The underperformance in digital competencies presents a significant challenge for the economy and society. It creates barriers to the labor market and increases the risk of digital exclusion. To address this, Poland needs to make changes in its education system. The situation can also be improved by leveraging EU funds earmarked for projects aimed at bridging the competence gap among Poles, thereby turning this challenge into an opportunity for growth and development.
