Record STMT-W0E5995Advisory

Western Balkans Digital Economy and Society Index 2024 Report

WESTERN BALKANS DIGITAL ECONOMY AND SOCIETY INDEX 2024 REPORT

Report Institutional policyWestern EuropeadoptedNot AI-specific

The Western Balkans Digital Economy and Society Index (WB DESI) 2024 Report provides a comprehensive evaluation of the digital performance of the Western Balkans Six economies across four core dimensions: digital skills, digital infrastructure, digital transformation of businesses, and digitalisation of public services. It benchmarks the region against European Union standards, tracking progress from 2022 to 2023 and identifying key policy priorities to accelerate regional convergence with the EU single market. The report also features individual country profiles for Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Serbia, highlighting specific reform agendas and indicator results.

Summary and content fields are drawn from the document text and are pending editorial review.

Who issued it

Regional Cooperation CouncilIntergovernmental

Lead issuer

Legal forceAdvisory

Under whose authorityInstitutional policy

Judged fromfull text

Who it governs

National governmentRegulatorsPublic sector bodiesResearchers and academics

Policymakers, researchers, and regional stakeholders should read this report to understand the digital maturity and reform progress of the Western Balkans in relation to EU accession standards.

Sectors

Telecommunications and digital services · digital economy and societyPublic administration · e-governmentResearch and science · digital research

What the document contains

What's covered

This report covers the assessment and benchmarking of digital readiness across the Western Balkans Six economies using the EU DESI 2024 methodology. It addresses four main dimensions: digital skills, digital infrastructure, business digital transformation, and public service digitalisation, providing detailed economy profiles and indicator tables.

What's missing

The report does not provide binding legal regulations, direct enforcement mechanisms, or technical deployment standards for artificial intelligence.

Key takeaways

The Western Balkans region continues to perform below the European Union average in key digital skills indicators, such as basic digital skills and the share of ICT specialists.
Fixed broadband infrastructure and Very High Capacity Networks showed notable progress, though gigabit-speed subscriptions remain minimal compared to the EU.
Business digitalisation lags behind the EU, with lower levels of digital intensity and enterprise resource planning software adoption, despite growth in data analytics and cloud use.
Public service digitalisation has improved through domestic e-government portals, but metrics for user support, transparency, and pre-filled forms still trail European benchmarks.
Institutionalising DESI as an integral part of digital strategies is vital for informing policy dialogue with the EU and securing targeted funding for digital initiatives.

Outline

· Introduction
· Executive Summary
· About DESI
· WB DESI 2024 Results
  - Digital Skills Dimension
  - Digital Infrastructure Dimension
  - Digital Transformation of Businesses Dimension
  - Digitalisation of Public Services Dimension
· WB DESI Profiles
  - Albania
  - Bosnia and Herzegovina
  - Kosovo*
  - Montenegro
  - North Macedonia
  - Serbia

IssuedJuly 2025

Length20,929 words

FormatNot recorded

1/5

Openness about how AI systems work and are used

Transparency in service delivery and data management also remains a challenge, with the WB6 scoring an average of 36, far below the EU’s score of 67.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

screening score · 2026-10-23

Enforcement

0/5

Consequences and compliance mechanisms with real force

n/a

screening score · 2026-10-23

Impact Assessment

0/5

Required assessment of an AI system's risks/impacts before or during use

n/a

screening score · 2026-10-23

Topics

digital_economy digital_transformation desi western_balkans eu_accession