Poland ICT Country ranks far behind other EU States in digitization

According to the latest report from the European Commission on Digital Economy and Society Index, Poland ranks 24th out of 27 European Union countries, based on human capital, connectivity, integration of digital technology and digital public services. As the report states, the main issue in Poland is related to digital skills – average of basic digital skills in Poland equals 43% comparing to 54% in Europe. Digital technologies in Poland need also to be developed to reach EU targets – today, only 40% of Polish companies reach at least basic level of digital intensity, while the EU target is at least 90% of SMes by 2030. When it comes to digital technologies used by companies, the country still ranks below EU average – only 19% companies use cloud computing, compared to European Union average of 41%.

Poland ranks below average in other areas related to digitization as well. The percentage of households connected to the internet is growing (about 70% at time of writing), but this does not mean that the 5G network is developed. Today 5G covers only 34% of the country, whereas an average coverage in European Union is 65%. The technology was only implemented by commercial operators, while the process of government auction for the 3.6GHz band started already in 2020, but at that time it has been cancelled. The consultations started again in December 2022. The government plans to create four 80MHz blocks in the 3480-4800 MHz band.

There have been, however, numerous programs and organizations put in place to support Poland’s digitization, such as NASK (National Research Institute) Academy, Nationwide Educational Network, and other.

According to the report, despite several documents and programs being created, the country lacks a global digitization strategy to have a clear vision of what should be done in near future.

The U.S. Commercial Service supports U.S. digital companies by organizing events that would help U.S. companies to highlight the benefits of transitioning from traditional to digital solutions. U.S. companies specializing in cybersecurity solutions, as well as cloud solutions, could be of interest to the Polish government and private sector partners seeking to improve their cybersecurity and cloud infrastructure.

For more information, please contact: office.warsaw@trade.gov.