Two out of three Spaniards have basic digital skills, but security and content creation are still lagging behind

66.5% of the Spanish population between 16 and 74 years old have basic or advanced digital skills, according to the report Digital Skills 2026 (data 2025) published by the National Observatory of Technology and Society (ONTSI). The figure exceeds the European Union average of 60.4% by six points and consolidates the improvement recorded since 2021, when the percentage was 64.2%.

At the most demanding level, the Spanish advantage is even greater. 38.8% of the population achieves advanced digital skills, compared to 31.4% in Europe as a whole. However, progress compared to 2023 is limited to 0.3 points, and 33.5% of citizens still do not reach the basic level.

Strengths and areas for improvement

By areas, communication and collaboration is the most consolidated: 95.9% of the population have at least basic skills in this area. It is followed by information and data literacy (89.8%) and problem solving (89%). At the opposite end are security, with 81.2%, and the creation of digital content, with 74.1%. Spain exceeds the European average in the five areas analysed.

The distribution of these capacities is also not homogeneous. Older people with lower levels of education or income, as well as those living in small municipalities, are below average. Territorially, the Community of Madrid leads the ranking (71.8%), followed by Navarre (70.4%), the Balearic Islands (69.8%) and Catalonia (69.5%). Melilla (58.4%), Extremadura (60.5%), the Region of Murcia (60.8%) and Galicia (61.4%) occupy the last positions.

A target still far away

The data put Spain in a favourable position within the EU, but far from the Digital Decade target, which sets the proportion of adults with basic digital skills at 80% by 2030. The stagnation between 2023 and 2025 indicates that the remaining third of the population is the hardest to reach and requires targeted interventions.

The Digital Skills & Jobs Coalition Spain considers it a priority to strengthen training in cybersecurity and content creation, as well as direct resources towards the groups and territories with the greatest gap. Collaboration between administrations, companies, educational centers and social entities is key to accelerate this last section.

The full report is available on the ONTSI website.