THE OFFICE OF THE PRINCIPAL PERMANENT SECRETARY Malta ranks first in eGovernment out of 36 European countries

Malta has been confirmed as the best in Europe in terms of eGovernment services. Malta took first place with an average of 96%, followed by Estonia (92%), as emerged from the ‘eGovernment Benchmark Reports 2021’ report released today by the European Commission in which it analyses online government services of 36 European countries.

The Maltese Public Service ranked first in this study, after coming first in all the criteria of this exercise.

Malta ranked first in the User Centricity aspect, which indicates the quality of the service design and the ease with which it is used by customers, even on mobile. In this respect, the Maltese Public Service came first with a rate of 99%, 11% higher than the European average.

In the criteria of transparency in the services provided, Malta came first with a rate of 98%, while the European average was 64%.

Malta also ranked first in ‘Key Enablers’, which incorporates technical elements considered essential for the delivery of online government services. In this respect, Malta achieved 98%, with the European average being 61%.

In the aspect of ‘Cross Border Services’, which indicates the accessibility of services from other countries, the Maltese Public Service once again came in first place with a rate of 90%. This means a rate 35% higher than the European average.

Malta achieved first place in 2020 and previous years as well. This result thus reaffirms the Maltese Public Service as a leader in eGovernment from all countries of the European Union, as well as from the countries of Iceland, Switzerland, Norway, the United Kingdom, Albania, Montenegro, Northern Macedonia, Serbia, and Turkey.

The Head of the Maltese Public Service Mario Cutajar said this result is a certificate of the work carried out in recent years, with an investment of €200 million in technology as part of the renewal process of the Public Service, that aimed to make Public Services accessible to anyone and everywhere. This has been done with a client-centred approach, and today’s result confirms this. Mr Cutajar said it is a challenge to maintain first place year after year, with Malta continuing to do so in front of countries considered giants in this field such as Estonia and Austria.

The ‘eGovernment Benchmark 2021’ report is available at: https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/news-redirect/724214.

Source: Office of the Prime Minister