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German index of digitization: Development of the total index value between 2019 and 2021 ÖFIT/ Fraunhofer FOKUS

German index of digitization 2021

News from May 06, 2021

The Competence Center Public Information Technology (ÖFIT) at the Fraunhofer Institute FOKUS examined the question: “How digital is Germany? What is the current state of digitization in Germany at the federal level?“ On May 6th, the German digitization index will be published for the third time.

By analyzing a large number of indicators, the ÖFIT scientists make the development of digitization understandable and show regional aspects in the 16 federal states. A particular focus this year is on the implementation status of the Online Access Law (OZG) in the municipalities. For this reason, the regular overview of 300 selected municipal web portals has been expanded to include additional aspects. A regionally representative population survey with more than 5,500 respondents supplements the supply side with the demand side of digital services. The index thus shows an overall picture of the demand for digital administrative services and municipal offers.

Dr. Markus Richter, State Secretary at the Federal Ministry of the Interior, Building and Community and Federal Government Commissioner for Information Technology: “I am pleased that more and more people are using digital administration and evaluating the offers well. But the potential is much greater. Our common goal is for people in all 11,000 municipalities in Germany to have full access to the digital world of administration. We are working on this at full speed in the federal government together with the federal states and municipalities.”

Digitization in Germany  using the time slot

The presentation and analysis in the German index of digitization are closely based on the tried and tested procedure: A high index value indicates that digitization is well advanced in the five subject areas examined: (1) infrastructure, (2) the use of digital possibilities in everyday life, (3) economy and research, (4) citizen services, and (5) digital communities. The index is not intended as a benchmark, but is intended to support the analysis, to identify regional strengths and weaknesses and to point out the need for action. This perspective opens up new perspectives for digitization and its elements that can be experienced and designed.

Prof. Dr. Peter Parycek, Director of the Competence Center ÖFIT, emphasizes: The German index of digitization will reach a value of 70.2 points in 2021 and is thus higher than in 2019 with 68.3 points. This means that the long-term trend that was already observed between 2017 and 2019 continues beyond the short-term corona effects: Germany is becoming more and more digital. The time slot for expanding the digital administration offering is favorable. The index values show that a population with a digital affinity greatly appreciates digital services.

As part of an online conference, the German index of digitization will be presented on May 6th by the Federal Ministry of the Interior, Building and Community and the Competence Center Public IT at the Fraunhofer Institute FOKUS. The German index of digitization is available for download on the website of the Competence Center for Public IT. In addition, the index can be experienced intuitively via an interactive online tool on the ÖFIT website. The index values can be compared online with the indices from previous years.

The competence center ÖFIT sees itself as a contact and think tank for questions of public IT and examines state design and regulation requirements for digitization in public space. It is funded by the Federal Ministry of the Interior, Building and Community.