Comparison of Four Popular International Indicators to Identify Digital Divide

There is a broad consensus among researchers and economic decision-makers that digitalization is important, but that the tools for measuring it are not uniform across regions of the world. As a result, the perception of the digital development of different regions or even companies may differ, and identifying the phenomenon of digital divide itself is not a simple task. Accordingly, the aim of this research is to compare and evaluate international indicators that can be used to identify digital divide and to make recommendations for the development of indicator systems. The research compares and draws conclusions from key indicators in Europe and Southeast Asia. The Digital Economy and Society Index, the Digital Index, the Digital Intelligence Index and the Digital Integration Index show that digital development can be assessed along a number of dimensions and indicators. Although the intent of each index is similar, the methodologies differ on how to measure digital divide, and the conclusions on which benchmark is the best are partly contradictory. However, they all have in common that a conscious effort must be made to overcome the digital divide. Identifying and accurately measuring the digital divide is not an easy task, which is why there is currently no universally accepted indicator to capture all the factors of this complex phenomenon. This will need to be determined by future research.