In 2021, the added value of the information and communication technologies (ICT) sector in the EU was equivalent to 5.5% of the gross EU added value. 4.7% fell on ICT services, and the remaining 0.8% - on ICT production, data from “Eurostat” show, NOVA reported.
The country with the highest ICT gross value added is Malta (10.3%), while Greece has the lowest percentage (3.5%). Bulgaria is among the three EU countries with the highest percentage of gross added value from ICT services (7.3%), surpassed only by Malta (with 9.4%) and Cyprus (with 8.9%).
Meanwhile, Hungary (with 1.2%), Malta (with 0.8%), Latvia and Slovakia (with 0.6% each) have the highest share of gross value added from the production of information and communication technologies.
As for the share of ICT employment in total employment, the EU average is 3.2% in 2021, further Eurostat data shows.
Between 2011 and 2021, among EU countries for which data are available for 2021, only Denmark recorded a decrease in ICT employment relative to total employment (by 0.6 percentage points), while Latvia and Estonia recorded the largest increase in the share of ICT employment - by 2.5 and 2.2 percentage points, respectively.
In 2021, the highest shares of ICT employment to total employment were recorded in Ireland (6.1%), Estonia (5.6%) and Sweden (5.2%), and the lowest are in Greece (1.7%), Poland and Portugal (both with 3.0%).