Malta was categorised as being among the ‘fastest growing’ European digital economies by the European Digital and Society Index (DESI). This index summarises the European Union’s digital performance and tracks the evolution of EU Member States in digital competitiveness. This index is categorised into five main elements: connectivity, human capital, use of internet, integration of digital technology and digital public services.
Malta’s scores are above EU average and Malta’s growth rate is faster than that of the EU as a whole. Malta performs best in the first category, connectivity. It ranks 9th among EU countries and well above EU average. Malta is particularly strong in broadband deployment and take up. All Maltese households have access to fixed broadband and local networks provide at least 30Mbps. However, Malta has room for improvement in provision of 4G mobile services. Although 4G is available for 75% of the population, participation in mobile broadband services is below EU average.
Read more: Malta's Digital Economy ‘Running Ahead' Of Other EU Countries
81% of Maltese internet users read news online - Malta scores low in making government data available
A European digital performance index released by the European Commission has ranked Malta 11 out of the 28 member states of the European Union.
In the Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI) 2016, Malta received an overall score of 0.56, ranking particularly strong in broadband deployment and take-up. It was also reported that all Maltese households were covered by fixed broadband and all networks provide at least 30 Mbps.
Read more: Malta ranks 11 in Europe’s digital performance index
The public service suffers serious prejudice. It conjures up images of a bureaucratic nine-to-five mentality, overstaffed ministries operating in isolation and constant, almost secretive, filing.
In recent years, the public service embarked on various initiatives to improve on delivery and consult with the very reason of its existence: the public.
The tone of Prime Minister Joseph Muscat and the head of the civil service, Mario Cutajar, when speaking at the launch of this year’s Public Service Week was positive and ambitious. The initiatives announced deserve closer scrutiny.
From connectivity and digital skills to public services, EU countries have made progress since last year which marked the launch of the Digital Single Market Strategy by the European Commission.
While highlighting improvements, results of the 2016 edition of the Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI), released on Thursday, by the European Commission, also show that the pace of progress is slowing down. Action is needed, both at EU and national levels, to remove the obstacles that prevent EU countries from fully benefit from digital opportunities.
Read more: Malta ranks 11th in the EU’s Digital Economy and Society Index
The Office of the Permanent Secretary has managed to introduce a total of 249 simplification measures in this last year.
Addressing a press conference at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs this morning, Permanent Secretary Mario Cutajar said this marks 80 more measures introduced compared to previous years.
One of the most important measures introduced in 2015 were the setting up of three one-stop-shop centres, called servizz.gov.mt, in different localities.