Digital Government Outlook 2026: Italy
Table of contents
This country note presents an overview of the digital government landscape in Italy 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 Italy in advancing a whole-of-government approach to digital transformation in the public sector.
In the 2025 edition of the OECD Digital Government Index, Italy attained a score of 0.67, below the OECD average of 0.70. This represents a 0.09 increase since 2023 (Figure 1).
Italy recorded higher scores in Data-driven Public Sector (0.77) and Open by Default (0.73), compared with OECD averages of 0.74 and 0.59, respectively. These results show that Italy has advanced in leveraging data for decision-making and in promoting the openness and transparency of government data and processes.
Italy scored below the OECD average in Proactiveness (0.39 vs 0.67), User-Driven (0.69 vs 0.71), Government as a Platform (0.68 vs 0.71) and Digital by Design (0.74 vs 0.75). This means that Italy still has room for improvement in anticipating user needs through proactive service design, placing users at the centre of service delivery, and broadening the adoption of shared platforms for government-wide use.
In the 2025 edition of the OECD OURdata Index, Italy attained a score of 0.51, below the OECD average of 0.53 (Figure 2). This represents a 0.03 increase since 2023.
Italy recorded a higher score in Data accessibility (0.68), slightly above the OECD average of 0.67, and in Data availability (0.54 vs 0.53). These results reflect Italy's efforts in ensuring quality access to data, notably through the use of open formats and standardised metadata.
Italy scored below the OECD average in Government support for data re-use (0.32 vs 0.40). This suggests that Italy has room for improvement in strengthening mechanisms to actively promote the re-use of government data and measure its public value.
Italy has established a comprehensive digital government governance structure. The Department for Digital Transformation sets strategic direction under Italia Digitale 2026https://innovazione.gov.it/argomenti/italia-digitale-2026/, and the Agency for Digital Italy (AgID) is responsible for implementation, notably through the Three-Year Plan for Information Technology in Public Administrationhttps://pianotriennale-ict.italia.it/, which translates strategic objectives into concrete actions for public administrations. Co-ordination is ensured through the Interministerial Commitee for Digital Transition https://innovazione.gov.it/argomenti/citd-comitato-interministeriale/ with citizen and business participation enabled through the ParteciPa consultation body. Information-sharing across the public sector is further supported by Forum Italia and AgID’s Rete Digitale platform for Chief Digital Officers.
Digital talent development in Italy is supported by a structured national approach. The Syllabus Platform is aligned with the National Digitalisation Strategy. The platform offers personalised e-learning based on standardised needs assessments, supports skills gap identification and tailored learning paths, and integrates with training providers' Learning Management Systems. It enables multi-level monitoring of the competency framework across public administrations. This is complemented by ANCI's Accademia dei Comuni Digitali, which provides targeted training for municipal staff and local administrations, while Repubblica Digitale supports broader efforts to address the digital divide across the population.
A robust data interoperability ecosystem has been developed in Italy. The National Digital Data Platform (PDND) provides the central infrastructure through which public administrations securely authenticate, and exchange data using APIs, supporting the once-only principle. The api.gov.it catalogue facilitates discovery and re-use of public-sector APIs, while the National Data Catalogue for Semantic Interoperability (schema.gov.it) provides common data models. The Nationally Significant Databases programme further supports quality by establishing reliable reference databases across government.
While Italy performs well in areas such as financing and monitoring, broader components of its digital investment framework could be strengthened. Ex-post cost-benefit analysis, a common methodology to evaluate project impact, and a standardised value proposition model remain limited. Developing these capabilities could support more evidence-based investment decisions.
Italy's human-centred services framework also presents opportunities for development. Mechanisms for assessing the impact of digital tools on services, formal requirements for user involvement in policy design, standardised transaction cost measurement, and the systematic use of data in service design are not yet fully in place. Strengthening these capabilities could support more user-centred service improvement.
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.
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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.
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