Bitkom DESI 2026 highlights stronger digital skills and infrastructure, while public administration remains Germany’s biggest digital bottleneck

Germany continues to make progress in its digital transformation, yet the pace is no longer sufficient to maintain its position in Europe’s increasingly competitive digital landscape. This is the key finding of the Bitkom DESI 2026, which shows that Germany’s overall score improved from 50.1 to 51.1 points, while its ranking among the EU’s 27 Member States slipped from 14th to 17th place. The conclusion is clear: Germany is moving forward, but many European countries are advancing even faster.

Among the EU’s five largest economies, however, Germany performs comparatively well, ranking second behind Spainand ahead of France, Poland and Italy. Nevertheless, Bitkom President Dr. Ralf Wintergerst argues that incremental progress is no longer enough in an increasingly competitive digital economy. The decisive factor is not only improvement, but the speed of digital transformation.

Bitkom continues the DESI methodology

Since 2023, the European Commission has no longer published an overall Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI)ranking. Instead, digital performance is reported through individual indicators in the Digital Decade Report. Bitkom has reconstructed the former methodology by combining 44 EU indicators into a comprehensive national ranking, providing continuity for year-to-year comparisons across Europe.

In the 2026 edition, Denmark leads the ranking, followed by Finland, the Netherlands, Malta and Luxembourg. At the other end of the scale are Romania, Bulgaria and Slovakia.

Business digitalisation loses momentum

Germany’s performance in the digital transformation of businesses has weakened compared with last year. After ranking eighth in 2025, the country now occupies 11th place. Despite this decline, Germany remains the strongest performer among the EU’s five largest economies.

Bitkom highlights the country’s growing number of unicorns—start-ups valued at more than €1 billion—as a positive indicator of innovation. Even so, the broader comparison suggests that several European countries are accelerating the adoption of digital technologies more rapidly than Germany.

Strong infrastructure, limited adoption

Germany continues to invest heavily in digital infrastructure, but utilisation remains significantly below its potential. While the country slips from ninth to eleventh place in infrastructure quality, its network coverage continues to improve.

Today, 99.5% of households have access to 5G, exceeding the EU average of 96.8%. However, only 7% of the population subscribe to broadband connections offering at least 1 Gbit/s, leaving Germany ranked only 21st for the actual use of digital infrastructure.

The figures underline one of Germany’s central digital policy challenges: building networks is only one part of the equation; widespread adoption is equally essential for economic and societal benefits.

Digital skills show significant improvement

One of the most encouraging developments is the improvement in digital skills. Germany climbs from 15th to 11th place, making it the second-best performer among the EU’s five largest economies.

The country also performs above the European average in the availability of digital talent. IT professionals account for 5.5% of total employment, compared with the EU average of 5.0%, while 6.2% of graduates complete IT-related degrees, exceeding the European average of 5.5%.

These results suggest that Germany is strengthening its digital workforce at a time when demand for qualified IT specialists continues to grow across both the public and private sectors.

Public administration remains the weakest link

Despite measurable progress, public administration continues to represent Germany’s most significant digital weakness. The country falls from 21st to 22nd place in this category, remaining among the EU’s weakest performers.

The share of pre-filled digital government forms increased from 38% to 52%, but still remains well below the European average of 75.9%. Likewise, 69.6% of internet users access digital public services, compared with 76% across the EU.

The figures indicate that although Germany’s public sector is modernising, administrative digitalisation is progressing considerably faster in many other Member States.

From administrative reform to digital competitiveness

The 2026 report also reflects a noticeable shift in Bitkom’s policy priorities. Whereas the previous year’s recommendations focused primarily on administrative modernisation, bureaucracy reduction and the establishment of Germany’s new Federal Ministry for Digitalisation, this year’s debate centres much more strongly on competitiveness and economic growth.

Bitkom calls for:

• faster approval procedures for data centres, mobile communications infrastructure and industrial facilities;
• broader adoption of artificial intelligence across businesses;
• nationwide digital identities;
• consistent implementation of the Once-Only Principle, allowing citizens and businesses to provide information to public authorities only once; and
• Smart Regulation, combining simplified reporting obligations with reduced bureaucracy.

According to the association, digitalisation should increasingly be understood as a strategic driver of economic growth rather than solely as an administrative reform project.

Digitalisation becomes a competitiveness and resilience issue

The Bitkom DESI 2026 demonstrates that Germany continues to improve across several key digital indicators. Nevertheless, these advances are insufficient to close the gap with Europe’s digital frontrunners. While digital skills have improved considerably, public administration and the practical use of existing digital infrastructure remain structural weaknesses.

For businesses, public authorities and operators of critical infrastructure, digital capability is becoming an increasingly important strategic asset. Bitkom therefore argues for a long-term digital policy agenda that accelerates investment, reduces bureaucracy and positions digital transformation as a foundation for competitiveness, resilience and digital sovereignty.

Rather than asking whether Germany is making progress, the latest DESI raises a more pressing question: whether Germany can digitalise fast enough to remain competitive in Europe’s rapidly evolving digital economy.