Germany's performance towards the Digital Decade targets and objectives.
In 2023, Germany made notable progress in the deployment of connectivity infrastructure, in particular 5G stand-alone-ready infrastructure. However, the country is still facing important challenges in reaching full Fibre to the Premises (FTTP) coverage as well as in the digitalisation of public services. In the past year, Germany progressed in enhancing basic digital skills.
Two main strengths or areas of progress
5G coverage
Germany is close to reaching full 5G coverage of households, with 98.1% of coverage already achieved in overall 5G and notable progress in stand-alone-ready 5G infrastructure.
Basic Digital Skills
Germany has made a good progress in enhancing basic digital skills, reaching 52.2% up from 48.9% the year before, so a 3.3% growth in only one year.
Two main weaknesses or areas to improve
Connectivity infrastructure
Germany is second last in the EU when it comes to Fibre to the Premises (FTTP) coverage, currently standing at 29.8% and much below the EU average of 64%. The share of broadband retail lines with more than 1 Gbps speed is also well below the EU average (5.5% of fixed broadband subscriptions against an EU average of 18.5%).
Digitalisation of public services
The country will need to accelerate the pace of digitalisation of public services, as it is below the EU average (the digitalisation of public services for citizens scores 75.8 out of 100 against 79.4 at EU level and 78.6 against an EU average of 85.4 for businesses) and even saw a slight decline in the related indicators.
Germany's Key Performance Indicators
Germany’s Digital Decade strategic roadmap
Germany’s roadmap demonstrates that the country intends to allocate a very significant effort to achieve the Digital Decade objectives and targets. However, not all targets are covered in the roadmap, which sets 8 out of 14 key performance indicators (KPIs). To achieve its digital transformation, Germany plans to allocate a total budget (excluding private investments) estimated at EUR 44.3 billion (1,1% GDP).
Digital rights and principles
The Special Eurobarometer 'Digital Decade 2024' reveals that 41% of Germans believe the EU protects their digital rights effectively (-6% compared to 2023). Concerns have intensified, with 58% worried about children's online safety (+4%) and 44% about control over personal data (+2%). These findings underscore the need to reinforce digital rights at national level. On the positive side, 57% value freedom of expression online, and are satisfied with the level of digital skills, despite both figures remaining below the EU average.
Country-Specific Recommendations
Germany must improve its performance towards the Digital Decade targets and objectives, to foster competitiveness, resilience, sovereignty, and promote European values and climate action.
Connectivity infrastructure
Maintain the recent increased pace of deployment of fibre infrastructure to reach the Digital Decade target and encourage operators to continue the deployment of 5G stand-alone core networks.
Basic digital skills
Step up cooperation at all levels of administration to boost the digital skills of the population by 2030.
Digitalisation of public services
Accelerate the level of digitalisation of public services for citizens and businesses.
More on the Digital Decade Report 2024
Check out the progress of all Member States and extracts of country-specific recommendations.