Italy

According to the Digital Decade report 2026, Italy is at 54.27% of people aged 16-74 with at least basic digital skills, following a 8.9% annual increase since 2023, though this remains below the EU average of 60.40%.

2026 Digital Decade Eurobarometer report for Italy reflects Italian citizens' attitudes, priorities, and concerns regarding digital rights, AI, and the EU's digital policy goals based on research conducted between February and March 2026.

Italy has made notable progress in digitalisation, particularly in rolling out fibre-to-the-premises (FTTP), SME digitalisation, and the uptake of cloud, AI and data analytics.  

Italy has a National Coalition for digital skills and jobs led by the Department for Digital Transformation of the Italian Presidency of the Council of Ministers. 

Italia Digitale 2026 is the most recent national strategy on digital skills. It was adopted by the Italian Government and it is embedded in Italy’s National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR). This strategy aligns with the European Commission’s Digital Compass 2030 but aims to achieve its goals on a more accelerated timeline, leveraging the substantial financial resources provided by the PNRR.

The Italian National AI Strategy published in June 2022, was developed by Ministry of Enterprises and Made in Italy in cooperation with group of experts. The Strategy has been developed for a 3 year period from 2022 to 2024. The primary goal of the Strategy is to define a coherent and holistic framework of initiatives to support the development of a national AI ecosystem. 

The National Strategy for Digital Skills aims to bridge the digital divide and enhance digital competencies by 2026. Key goals include increasing basic digital skills in 70% of the population, doubling advanced digital skills, and tripling ICT graduates. The strategy involves education, workforce training, and public sector transformation through a collaborative, multi-sectoral approach.