As a cooperation project between bidt and the SZ-Institut of the Süddeutsche Zeitung, the bidt-SZ-Digitalbarometer provides survey data on the state of digital transformation in Germany. For this purpose, more than 9,000 people were surveyed on the topics of user behaviour, digital skills, digital transformation of the working world, e-government and artificial intelligence.
bidt-SZ-Digitalbarometer
The digital transformation now affects all areas of people’s lives. In private life as well as in the world of work, practically everyone comes into contact with digital technologies and devices in some way. Digital technologies and devices are becoming increasingly important for participation in social life, but they also pose challenges for people and society.
The bidt-SZ-Digitalbarometer is a population survey that provides data on the digital transformation in Germany. For this purpose, a total of 9,044 people were surveyed in August and September 2021 on the topics of usage behaviour, digital skills, digital transformation of the working world, e-government and on the special topic of artificial intelligence.
The bidt-SZ-Digitalbarometer thus allows representative statements to be made about the German resident population aged 14 and over.
Usage behaviour
Around 91 % of people in Germany over the age of 14 use the Internet privately. Only 9 % do not use it. In the group of non-users, 32 % say that help from another person (for example, family members, friends) could persuade them to use the internet. Around a quarter of non-users say that the internet would have to be safer for them to use it themselves in the future. However, the largest proportion of non-users (45 %) are convinced that there is nothing that could persuade them to do so.
More on the topic of digital use in the detailed study report as PDF.
Digital competencies
Digital competences are measured on the basis of the European reference framework “DigComp” with its five competence areas by means of the self-assessment test (DigCompSAT). Across all competence areas, the resident population in Germany aged 14 and over achieves a score of 55 out of 100 possible points. In detail, they score best in the area of “handling information and data” with 63 points. The lowest score is in the area of “creating digital content” with only 45 points.
More on the topic of digital skills in the detailed study report as PDF.
Digital transformation of the world of work
The digital transformation is also particularly evident in the world of work. Digital skills are becoming an increasingly important basic requirement for employees and for companies in competition. However, the training opportunities required for this differ significantly, for example, according to the size of the company. The majority of employees in companies with up to 249 employees rate the training opportunities on the topic of digitalisation as poor. In large companies with 5,000 employees or more, on the other hand, 58 % of employees rate the opportunities as good.
The corona pandemic has brought digitalisation deficits to light in many companies. It is therefore questionable whether the Corona pandemic has also contributed to advancing digitisation in companies. Here, too, there are considerable differences according to company size. For example, employees in large companies, i.e. with 5,000 or more employees, state that the corona pandemic has had a positive effect on digitisation in their company. In contrast, 37 % of employees from smaller companies with up to 249 employees are of the opinion that this is not the case.
More on the topic of the digital transformation of the world of work in the detailed study report as PDF.
Artificial intelligence
In the future, artificial intelligence will increasingly influence how tasks are completed or decisions are made. Assessments of the opportunities and risks of artificial intelligence differ greatly depending on the specific field of application. For example, just under half of Germans aged 14 and over say that the opportunities for using AI in the area of disease detection outweigh the risks. However, for a clear majority of 56 % of Germans, the risks outweigh the opportunities when using AI in legal proceedings.
More on the topic of artificial intelligence in the detailed study report as PDF.
Your digital skills in comparison
Take the comparison test on the website of the SZ-Institut (our cooperation partner) and determine your competence values in the five areas!
comparison test
