Mediterranean Economies 2023
DOI: 10.1401/9788815411167/c6
The rate of increase recorded over
the years is quite similar and regular for the various countries under examination.
Varia
¶{p. 205}bility is not particularly marked between countries, a sign
that in this sector a similar trend in the behaviour of the population prevails. That said,
the mean of the Med countries is slightly lower than the European average for all three
years considered.
Definition: percentage of households subscribing to
fixed broadband (percentage of households).
Source: authors’ elaboration on
Eurostat (European Union survey on ICT usage in Households and by Individuals),
2022.
Source: authors’ elaboration on
Eurostat (European Union survey on ICT usage in Households and by Individuals),
2022.
¶
Definition: number of mobile data subscriptions per 100 people
(percentage of individuals).
Source: author’s elaboration on Eurostat (European
Union survey on ICT usage in Households and by Individuals), 2022.
Source: author’s elaboration on Eurostat (European
Union survey on ICT usage in Households and by Individuals), 2022.
¶
Definition: percentage of populated areas with coverage by 5G
(percentage of households).
Source: authors’ elaboration on broadband coverage
in Europe studies for the European Commission by IHS Markit, Omdia and Point Topic,
2022.
Source: authors’ elaboration on broadband coverage
in Europe studies for the European Commission by IHS Markit, Omdia and Point Topic,
2022.
¶
The last indicator of connectivity
under examination for the EuroMed countries is 5G coverage.
Data are available only for the year
2022 but they are particularly enlightening. In particular, Italy, ranking last for its
overall DESI score and even being badly positioned for both fixed and mobile broadband
subscriptions, is top for this indicator, with almost 100 per cent geographical coverage,
followed by Cyprus and France. If we look at Spain, which always has very high values, it is
surprising to find that for this country 5G coverage is significantly lower than that of
Italy, being only around 60 per cent. Much lower values, moreover, are recorded for the
remaining Med countries of Slovenia, Croatia, Malta and Portugal.
Another interesting issue revealed by
the boxplot is that the Med average is higher than the EU average. It can be observed,
however, that there is considerable heterogeneity among countries with regard to their 5G
coverage. In this respect, it would be very interesting to ascertain whether the advantage
acquired by some countries can translate into greater benefits for its businesses and
residents.
4.2.3. The DESI sub-dimension of «Integration of digital technology»
As for the third dimension of the
DESI, figure 10 shows that Malta tops the rankings at 48 per cent. Italy’s second position
(40 per cent) is striking, especially if it is considered that this country has shown the
most significant growth during the 2020-2022 period. On the other hand, the delay of
France in this dimension is surprising as it ranks second to last and recorded the lowest
growth in the 2020-2022 period. Finally, Greece is last, an outlier. The boxplot clearly
shows that the COVID-19 pandemic has not sustained convergence among countries, as the
variability among values did not show marked differences across years.
In order to better explain
similarities and differences in performances across countries and over time, this DESI
dimension is analysed through looking at the basic indicators of: «SMEs
¶{p. 209}with at least a basic level of digital intensity» (related to the
sub-dimension «digital intensity»); «cloud», «AI» and «ICT for environmental
sustainability» (related to the sub-dimension «digital technologies for businesses»); and
SMEs selling online (related to the sub-dimension «e-commerce»). For simplicity, the
values of indicators which are available only for 2022 are reported in table 3, together
with the relative position of each country in the ranking and value of the EU mean.
Definition: weighted score of the DESI
sub-dimension (0-100).
Source: authors’ elaboration
on Digital Economy and Social Index, 2022.
Source: authors’ elaboration
on Digital Economy and Social Index, 2022.