How to reach the EU target of 80% of adults with basic digital skills by 2030?

Digital skills are essential for building a competitive, inclusive, and resilient Europe. Despite initiatives to support upskilling and reskilling, the ‘State of the Digital Decade 2024’ report highlights that only 55.6% of the EU’s adult population has at least basic digital skills, compared to the target of 80% set by the Digital Decade policy programme..

A new JRC analysis identifies which digital skills need to be developed, which groups of adults need to develop digital skills the most, and which actions would help them most.

Understanding the digital skills gaps in the EU

While most adults demonstrate proficiency in communication and collaboration — such as using email and social media — there are significant gaps in digital content creation (using various digital tools to create and edit digital content and data), basic cybersecurity practices, and online learning.

Who is most affected?

People with lower education levels are more at risk of having below-basic digital skills,  than highly educated individuals. Income also matters, but occupational differences play an important role in digital exclusion. Adults in manual occupations are most at risk, and their average skill level is even lower than that of people that are out of the labour market or unemployed. 

There are also disparities between urban and rural areas, reflecting socio-economic and demographic differences.

These factors have an even stronger impact when combined. For instance, if we consider age on its own, 32% of young people (16-24) show below-basic digital skills, while being young and with a low level of education increases this probability to 43%.

Steps to improve digital skills

The EU Digital Decade Policy Programme aims to ensure that 80% of adults possess at least basic digital skills by 2030. However, the 2024 State of the Digital Decade report highlighted that, without further measures, only 60% of the population would have at-least-basic digital skills by 2030.

To close the gap, the JRC study suggests to tailor policies to the groups most at-risk, particularly adults with below-basic digital skills. Actions, for example in terms of training, should focus on digital content creation, safety, and problem-solving activities, since these are the areas showing the largest differences between the below-basic and basic digital skills groups.

Young people with low levels of education should be supported with a stronger emphasis on developing digital skills in compulsory education and Vocational Education and Training (VET). Young adults would also need more opportunities to acquire digital skills outside of formal education; this includes both informal training and on-the-job training.

Policies also need to focus on supporting older populations and individuals with limited digital exposure, particularly the 8% of adults reporting limited or no use of the internet.

Background 

This JRC analysis is based on the Eurostat 2023 Digital Skills Indicator (DSI) data. The indicator is primarily used to monitor the progress towards the targets set by the Digital Decade. Digital skills levels are calculated in five key competence areas based on the European Digital Competence Framework for Citizens (DigComp): information and data literacy, communication and collaboration, digital content creation, safety, problem solving.

The Digital Decade Policy Programme aims to make Europe a global leader in digital transformation. To support this effort, the EU has allocated €26.3 billion for digital skills development between 2021 and 2027. The JRC’s findings provide critical insights for policymakers, educators, and organisations striving to close the digital skills gaps.

To help reach the 2030 targets, the Commission presented today its proposal for a Union of Skills focusing on investment, adult and lifelong learning, skill retention and the recognition of different types of training to enable people to work across our Union.