Luxembourg is recognized as a significant contributor to the collective endeavors aimed at meeting the EU’s Digital Decade objectives.
On September 27, 2023, the European Commission released the first report on the State of the Digital Decade. This comprehensive report examines the combined progress made by the European Union towards realizing Europe’s digital transformation goals by 2030. It provides in-depth evaluations of each Member State’s individual accomplishments over the past year in four key areas: digital skills, digital infrastructure, digitalisation of public services, and digitalisation of businesses.
In 2023’s report, Luxembourg has been praised for its good progress in digital transformation, which has led to innovation in data centres and digital administration as well as a more skilled workforce.
Digital infrastructure
Luxembourg is making substantial progress in achieving the EU’s objectives of full coverage for “Fixed Very high-capacity networks” (VHCN) and “5G networks” at 100% and is already acknowledged as a top performer in digital infrastructure within the European Union. Luxembourg’s high-speed VHCN coverage, ranked 5th, and its 5G coverage, ranked 7th, have shown steady growth in recent years, with Luxembourg now reaching 93% coverage for both, surpassing the EU average of 73% for VHCN and 81% for 5G.
Digitalisation of businesses
Although the report highlights areas in which Luxembourg could enhance its business digitalisation, specifically in terms of the proportion of businesses using cloud services and engaging in online sales, it also emphasizes that Luxembourg excels in several other aspects. These include the adoption of electronic information sharing, the use of social media, the analysis of big data, and the integration of artificial intelligence by businesses.
It’s worth mentioning that the report has not yet incorporated two significant initiatives, which the government officially unveiled in March and June 2023. These initiatives include the introduction of the “Luxembourg Future Fund 2,” succeeding the initial Luxembourg Future Fund 1, with a capital of EUR 200 million. Additionally, the government continues its investment in the Digital Tech Fund by establishing a new sub-fund within it, aimed at fostering the growth of startups in Luxembourg.
Digitalisation of public services
Regarding the provision of digital services to both individuals and businesses, the report highlights Luxembourg’s significant advancements in this area. It achieved a score of 95 out of 100, ranking second for citizens, and a score of 97, ranking fifth for businesses.
Digital Skills
As per the report’s findings, Luxembourg stands out for its impressive performance in relation to the Digital Decade objectives concerning digital skills. In particular, Luxembourg secures the second position, following Sweden, in terms of the proportion of ICT specialists within its total workforce. Moreover, with 64% of its population possessing at least basic digital skills, Luxembourg ranks seventh, surpassing the EU average of 54%.
Source: News – Digital Decade Country Report 2023: Luxembourg considered a strong contributor in the collective efforts to achieve the EU’s Digital Decade targets, Released by the Department of Media, Connectivity and Digital Policy.