Only 24% of Romanians used any public service online in 2025, practically unchanged from 2023
Romania has the lowest rate of use of digital public services in the whole European Union, and the gap with the European average has widened, not narrowed.
The ROptimizaRE editorial team · 5 min read · updated 15 October 2026
In short
- 24% of Romanians (aged 16–74) used a public authority's website or app in 2025, compared with an EU average of 72%: the lowest rate in the Union, below Bulgaria (36%)[1]
- Progress is almost non-existent: from 23% (2023) to 24% (2025), while the EU average rose from 69% to 72%; the relative gap has widened[2][1]
- Romania also has the lowest rate of use of electronic identity (eID) in the EU, alongside Bulgaria: only 10% of Romanians used eID to access a service, compared with over 90% in Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands, Sweden or Estonia[1]
- 62% of Romanians nevertheless consider that the digitalisation of public and private services makes their life easier, a better perception than the actual usage rate[3]
- The national roadmap for the “Digital Decade” contains 98 measures, with a budget of €3.6 billion, equivalent to 1.01% of GDP[3]
- The European Commission explicitly recommends consolidating the existing multiple projects into a single, coherent one[3]
Last place in the European Union, year after year
Eurostat measures every year what percentage of the population interacted online with a public authority, from filing a tax return to obtaining a certificate. In 2025 Romania again recorded the lowest rate in the EU: only 24% of people aged 16–74, against a European average of 72%. Two years earlier, in 2023, the figures were 23% for Romania and 69% for the average: practically the same gap, slightly larger[1][2].
2025
Romania: rank 2 of 2 (1 = the highest value)
View the data as a table
| Country | Value |
|---|---|
| EU average | 72% |
| Bulgaria | 36% |
| Romania | 24% |
The difference between 2023 and 2025 shows almost no progress for Romania (+1 percentage point), while the EU average kept rising (+3 points). Bulgaria, the only other country consistently near the bottom of the ranking, progressed much more clearly: from 30% (2023) to 36% (2025), widening the distance from Romania[2][1].
Use of eID to access public services, Romania
10%
Year 2025 · source[1]
The lowest rate in the EU, alongside Bulgaria (12%), compared with over 90% in Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands, Sweden or Estonia.
A perception better than the reality of use
Interestingly, when asked directly, Romanians are relatively optimistic: 62% consider that the digitalisation of public and private services makes their life easier, according to the special Eurobarometer on the Digital Decade, cited in the European Commission's 2025 country report. The gap between this perception and the actual usage rate (24%) suggests either that many Romanians do not yet have access to a relevant public service in digital form, or that the infrastructure exists but is not known or used[3].
A roadmap with 98 measures
Through its national roadmap for the “Digital Decade”, Romania has committed to 98 different measures, with a total budget of €3.6 billion, equivalent to 1.01% of GDP, a large part funded from the NRRP. The European Commission explicitly recommended that efforts continue after the initial implementation stage and, significantly, that “the multiple existing projects be streamlined/consolidated”[3].
Sources
Primary official sources; where we use the press (only when the official document is not public) we mark it. The links lead to the original document or to the report cited (titles are translated; the documents themselves are in Romanian unless stated).
- [1]
Eurostat — E-government and electronic identification (the edition with 2025 data — updates the figures in eurostat-egov-2023 (2023 data); it also includes a new indicator, eID use)
Accessed 15 October 2026 · the original document(opens in a new tab)
- [2]
Eurostat — How do people interact with public authorities online? (indicator ISOC_R_GOV_I — people aged 16–74 who used a public authority's website or app in the last 12 months, 2023 data)
Published 24 September 2024 · Accessed 15 October 2026 · the original document(opens in a new tab)
- [3]
European Commission — Romania 2025 Digital Decade Country Report
Accessed 15 October 2026 · the original document(opens in a new tab)
This is a translation of the Romanian article, which prevails. Source titles are translated for convenience; the documents themselves are in Romanian unless stated.