BRUSSELS, June 11 (Xinhua) -- The European Union (EU) needs to speed up its digital transformation to keep the bloc globally competitive, said EU's 2019 Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI) released Tuesday.
Over the past year, all EU countries improved their digital performance. Finland, Sweden, the Netherlands and Denmark scored the highest DESI ratings and are among the global leaders in digitalization.
These countries are followed by the United Kingdom, Luxembourg, Ireland, Estonia and Belgium within the EU, according to the index.
However, other countries still have a long way to go, according to DESI, adding the EU as a whole needs to improve to better compete on the global stage.
DESI indicators show that the demand for fast and ultrafast broadband is on the rise and is expected to increase further in view of the growing sophistication of internet services and business needs.
Some 20 percent of homes use ultrafast broadband, a number that is four times higher than in 2014, according to the index.
The use of video calls and video on demand, available on various computer programs and smartphone applications, increased most, it added.
