Poles avoid e-offices. Our country is lagging behind the EU in terms of residents' use of e-administration

Last year, 61 percent Poles used e-administration services, which puts our country in fourth place from the bottom in the EU – reported the Polish Economic Institute (PIE). According to experts, the main reasons for the low result are barriers related to, among others: with place of residence and age.

According to Eurostat data prepared by PIE, Poland was in fourth place from the bottom in the EU in terms of the percentage of citizens who used public administration services online in 2025 (61%).

These countries are at the top of the list

The summary opens Denmark, the Netherlands, Finland and Swedenwhere over 95% have used e-administration in the last 12 months. citizens. However, at the end of the ranking, after Poland, there were Italy (60%), Bulgaria (36%) and Romania (24%).

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According to PIE experts Poland's low result is related to, among others, with a gap between urban and rural areas. The difference in the percentage of people using e-administration between cities and villages in Poland reached 19 points. percent The gap was “definitely larger” than in countries with the highest e-government adoption, where it was “symbolic”, it said. The data show that similar gaps as in Poland between the countryside and the city occurred, among others: in Bulgaria, Greece and Hungary.

As indicated by the institute, another factor that could have influenced Poland's result was low percentage of the oldest Poles using e-administration. In our country, 82% of people used public administration via the Internet in 2025. people aged 25-34, 70 percent aged 45-54, 51 percent aged 55-64 and “only” 28 percent aged 65-74 – it was reported.

For comparison, in Denmark, 97% of people aged 65-75 used e-administration. people, in the Netherlands – 95 percent, and in Sweden – 91 percent. However, in Bulgaria and Romania, which close the ranking, it was 8 percent each.

“The presented results indicate that the relatively low level of use of e-government in Poland is not solely a matter of the general digitization of public services,” concluded PIE. According to the institute, improving Poland's result requires actions that will increase the availability and usability of e-services outside large centers and lower the entry threshold for groups with a lower tendency to use the digital channel – primarily older people and rural residents.

(PAP)

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