Building a Country Rating of Digitalization of the Economy Based on the Principal Component Analysis

Abstract

The relevance of international comparisons of the level of digitalization of countries based on rating assessments is argued, due to the lack of uniformity in the methods and results of using information and communication technologies. The information base of the study is data from Rosstat and Eurostat on a number of digitalization variables for the period 2016–2020. The methodological basis of the analysis is the principal component method and k-means cluster analysis. The importance of using various statistical tools to assess the scale of digital inequality in the context of countries and regions is argued.Scientific and methodological approaches to studying the problem of digital inequality were generalized. Three levels of digital gaps and statistical indicators reflecting them were allocated. The role of indices as generalizing indicators in assessing the level of digitalization of the economy and society was determined. A rating of European countries was built (in descending order of the calculated digitalization index). A grouping of countries that differ in the level of digital development is proposed, estimates of digital gaps are given.The results of the statistical analysis showed that the leaders of the rating are Finland, Denmark, and Norway; outsiders are Greece, Bulgaria, Romania. All these countries occupy a stable position in the ranking. Three clusters of countries were formed in terms of the level (high, medium, low) of digitalization of the economy. It is shown that the digital gaps between European countries fluctuate in the range of 42–44%. Russia's place in the ranking of 20 countries in the period from 2016 to 2020 was determined.