How’s life in the digital age in Portugal?
Relative to other OECD countries, Portugal has a relatively high level of exposure to the risks of the digital transformation, while having only marginally benefitted from its opportunities. Internet access (76.9% of households have a broadband Internet connection) is slightly below the OECD average, but it has more than doubled since 2005 (when the share was 31.5%). Internet use and the variety of uses are relatively limited while there is a very high level of inequality of uses of the Internet in Portugal, meaning that although a minority of the population uses the Internet for a large range of activities, the majority of the population uses the Internet for very few purposes. Likewise, people do not use the Internet much for online consumption, online selling or job search, suggesting that the momentum of income and wealth generation through digital activities is weak. In comparison to other OECD countries, many Portuguese people report lacking skills to access e-government services and they report high levels of digital security incidents. In contrast, the Portuguese score above the OECD average when it comes to seeking health information online and in expressing political opinions online.
Note: This wheel depicts Portugal’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.