How’s life in the digital age in Italy?
Italy is more exposed to the risks of the digital transformation than it reaps the benefits, relative to other OECD countries. Internet use and the variety of activities that people use the Internet for is low compared to other countries. At the same time, the level of inequality of uses of the Internet is among the highest of OECD countries, meaning that while a small group of people use the Internet for a broad range of activities, the majority of people has not benefited from a large variety of online uses. Because relatively few people use the Internet compared to other OECD countries, the life satisfaction gains from having access to the Internet are comparatively small. People in Italy have benefited a fair amount from lower extended job strain due to computer-based jobs, but information industries contribute relatively little to overall employment and an estimated 15% of jobs are at high risk of automation, which is above the OECD average. Italy is exposed to a few other key risks of the digital transformation, most notably a widely reported lack of ICT skills among teachers, with 36% of teachers indicating a high need to develop their ICT skills.
Note: This wheel depicts Italy’s relative performance in terms of key opportunities and risks in the context of the digital transformation. The centre of the wheel corresponds to the lowest outcome observed across all OECD countries, while the outer circle corresponds to the highest outcome. For opportunities (in dark blue) longer bars indicate better outcomes, whereas for risks (in yellow), longer bars indicate worse outcomes. If data are missing for any given indicator, the relevant segment of the circle is shaded in white.