Digital Government Outlook 2026: Austria
Table of contents
This country note presents an overview of the digital government landscape in Austria drawing on the results of the 2025 OECD Digital Government Index (DGI) and the 2025 OECD OURdata Index. The note outlines key policy developments in the country observed during the assessment period. It aims to inform policy dialogue and support Austria in advancing a whole-of-government approach to digital transformation in the public sector.
In the 2025 edition of the OECD Digital Government Index, Austria attained a score of 0.62, below the OECD average of 0.70. This represents a 0.07 increase since 2023 (Figure 1).
Austria recorded higher scores in Digital by Design (0.78) and Government as a Platform (0.77), compared with OECD averages of 0.75 and 0.71, respectively. These results show that Austria has advanced in integrating digital technologies into government operations and in developing shared platforms for government-wide use.
Austria scored below the OECD average in Data-driven Public Sector (0.63 vs 0.74), User-Driven (0.53 vs 0.71), Proactiveness (0.52 vs 0.67) and Open by Default (0.46 vs 0.59). This suggests that Austria still has room for improvement in leveraging data as a strategic asset, placing user needs at the centre of service design, and promoting openness and transparency.
In the 2025 edition of the OECD OURdata Index, Austria attained a score of 0.53, equal to the OECD average (Figure 2). This represents a 0.09 increase since 2023.
Austria recorded a higher score in Data accessibility (0.77), above the OECD average of 0.67. Government support for data re-use (0.41) was slightly above the OECD average of 0.40. These results reflect Austria's efforts in ensuring that government datasets are accessible through open formats and metadata standards.
Austria scored below the OECD average in Data availability (0.42 vs 0.53). This suggests that Austria has room for improvement in broadening the volume and scope of government datasets made available to the public.
Austria has established a comprehensive digital government governance structure. The Directorate for Digitalisation and eGovernment at the Federal Chancellery leads digital policy under Austria's E-Government Strategy 2023. Co-ordination is ensured through the BLSG partnership, the ICT-Federation committee, and the CDO Task Force, with external input from the Advisory Council for the Information Society.
Forward-looking digital skills across the federal civil service are supported in Austria through initiatives such as GovLabAustria "Future Skills" initiative. The programme covers practical AI applications and ethical considerations and has produced a competency structure model for public administration. Next steps include operationalising the model for specific job families and skill levels, in collaboration with personnel development and performance evaluation functions.
A comprehensive data interoperability system has been established in Austria through the Digital Austria Data Exchange (dadeX). The system connects data providers and consumers across federal, state, city and municipal levels (BLSG) via standardised interfaces. It exposes more than 500 attributes from over 20 registers through a unified access point, replacing bespoke point-to-point connections.
While Austria performs well in areas such as service catalogues and digital identity, its human-centred services framework could be strengthened. Measurement of user needs across the service lifecycle, transaction cost monitoring, barriers assessment for service co-design, and testing methods are not yet in place. Developing these capabilities could support more evidence-based service improvement.
Austria's digital investment framework also presents opportunities for development. A common methodology to evaluate impact and the inclusion of agile methodologies in standardised project management are not yet reported. Strengthening these areas could enhance flexibility and accountability in digital project delivery.
The OECD Digital Government Outlook (DGO) provides a comprehensive assessment of digital government policies across OECD Members and accession candidate countries. It draws on the results of the 2025 OECD Digital Government Index (DGI) and the 2025 OECD Open, Useful and Re-usable Data (OURdata) Index to evaluate progress and identify persistent gaps in digital transformation across the public sector.
The DGI assesses the enabling foundations for digital transformation across six dimensions: Digital by Design, Data-driven Public Sector, Government as a Platform, Open by Default, User-Driven and Proactiveness. Rather than measuring the digitalisation of specific services, the DGI focuses on the strategies, policy levers, implementation practices and monitoring mechanisms that enable coherent, whole-of-government digital transformation.
The OURdata Index benchmarks the robustness of open government data policies across three pillars: data availability, data accessibility and government support for data re-use. It supports policymakers in monitoring the design and implementation of national open government data policies.
Both indices were developed with OECD Member countries through the OECD Working Party of Senior Digital Government Officials (E-Leaders) and approved by the OECD Public Governance Committee.
Figure 1: The 2025 DGI OECD average does not include Germany and the United States. 2025 data cover the period from 1 January 2023 to 31 December 2024. The 2023 OECD average does not include Germany, Greece, Slovakia, Switzerland and the United States. 2023 data cover the period from 1 January 2021 to 31 October 2022. The composite score is the unweighted average of the six-dimension scores.
Figure 2: The 2025 and 2023 OURdata Index OECD average does not include Denmark, Hungary and the United States. 2025 data cover the period from 1 January 2023 to 31 December 2024. 2023 data cover the period from 1 January 2020 to 31 December 2021. The composite score is the unweighted average of the three-pillar scores.
This work is published under the responsibility of the Secretary-General of the OECD. The opinions expressed and arguments employed herein do not necessarily reflect the official views of the Member countries of the OECD.
This document, as well as any data and map included herein, are without prejudice to the status of or sovereignty over any territory, to the delimitation of international frontiers and boundaries and to the name of any territory, city or area.
The statistical data for Israel are supplied by and under the responsibility of the relevant Israeli authorities. The use of such data by the OECD is without prejudice to the status of the Golan Heights, East Jerusalem and Israeli settlements in the West Bank under the terms of international law.
The full book is available in English: OECD (2026), Digital Government Outlook 2026: From Foundations to Transformational Impact, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/0496b2bc-en.
© OECD 2026
Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
This work is made available under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence. By using this work, you accept to be bound by the terms of this licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Attribution – you must cite the work.
Translations – you must cite the original work, identify changes to the original and add the following text: In the event of any discrepancy between the original work and the translation, only the text of the original work should be considered valid.
Adaptations – you must cite the original work and add the following text: This is an adaptation of an original work by the OECD. The opinions expressed and arguments employed in this adaptation should not be reported as representing the official views of the OECD or of its Member countries.
Third-party material – the licence does not apply to third-party material in the work. If using such material, you are responsible for obtaining permission from the third party and for any claims of infringement.
You must not use the OECD logo, visual identity or cover image without express permission or suggest the OECD endorses your use of the work.
Any dispute arising under this licence shall be settled by arbitration in accordance with the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) Arbitration Rules 2012. The seat of arbitration shall be Paris (France). The number of arbitrators shall be one.