People with at least basic overall digital skills

As part of the European education area (EEA) strategic framework for the 2021-2030 period, the Council set out seven EU-level targets that need to be met to realise the EEA. Regarding low-achieving eighth-graders in computer and information literacy, the target is for their share to be below 15 % by 2030. Moreover, the 2030 ‘digital compass’ for the EU’s Digital Decade policy programme set the objective of ensuring that 80 % of Europeans ages 16 to 74 would have at least basic digital skills by 2030. However, Eurostat figures indicate that in 2021, only 54 % of this age group possessed at least basic digital skills.
In addition to digital skills shortages – including insufficient numbers of people with advanced digital skills and information and communications technology (ICT) specialists – a significant gender gap exists in specialist digital skills. Based on the 2022 Education and Training Monitor, women accounted for only 19.1 % of employed ICT specialists in 2021, and for 31.3 % of enrolled students in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) disciplines in 2020.