Digital Government Outlook 2026: Spain
Table of contents
This country note presents an overview of the digital government landscape in Spain 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 Spain in advancing a whole-of-government approach to digital transformation in the public sector.
In the 2025 edition of the OECD Digital Government Index, Spain attained a score of 0.75, above the OECD average of 0.70. This represents a 0.15 increase since 2023 (Figure 1).
Spain recorded higher scores in Digital by Design (0.82), Data-driven Public Sector (0.82), Proactiveness (0.78), Government as a Platform (0.74) and User-Driven (0.73), compared with OECD averages of 0.75, 0.74, 0.67, 0.71 and 0.71, respectively. These results show that Spain has advanced in embedding digital technologies across government, leveraging data for decision-making, and adopting proactive approaches to service delivery.
Spain scored above the OECD average in Open by Default (0.63 vs 0.59), though this remains its comparatively lowest dimension. This suggests that Spain could further strengthen its efforts in promoting the openness and transparency of government data and processes.
In the 2025 edition of the OECD OURdata Index, Spain attained a score of 0.76, above the OECD average of 0.53 (Figure 2). This represents a 0.01 increase since 2023.
Spain recorded higher scores across all three pillars: 0.59 in Data availability, 0.77 in Data accessibility and 0.91 in Government support for data re-use, compared with OECD averages of 0.53, 0.67 and 0.40, respectively. These results reflect Spain's particularly strong performance in government support for data re-use, positioning the country among the leading OECD performers in this area.
Spain scored above the OECD average in Data availability (0.59 vs 0.53), though this remains its comparatively lowest pillar. This suggests that Spain could further broaden the volume and scope of government datasets made available to the public.
Spain has established a comprehensive digital government governance structure. The State Agency for Digital Administration (AEAD) leads digital policy under the Plan for the Digitalisation of Public Administration 2021–2025. Co-ordination is ensured through the Sectoral Commission for Electronic Administration across State, Autonomous Community, and Local administrations, with external input from the International Advisory Council on Artificial Intelligence.
A comprehensive approach to digital skills development is applied across Spain’s public service. INAP's Learning Strategy 2023–2024 provides structured training along five competency axes, with a dedicated axis for digital and teleworking competencies. Offerings include formal courses in open data, cybersecurity, and electronic invoicing, self-paced online learning, mobility mechanisms, communities of practice, and the Public Innovation Laboratory as a space for experimentation and collaboration.
A robust data quality framework in Spain is supported by national UNE specifications. The Data Office sponsored and participated in the creation of UNE 0077:2023 on Data Governance, UNE 0078:2023 on Data Management, and UNE 0079:2023 on Data Quality Management. Designed to be applied jointly, these specifications provide a harmonised reference framework for sustainable and effective data practices across public and private organisations.
Even though Spain performs well in areas such as financing, management, and monitoring, broader components of its digital investment framework could be strengthened. A standardised value proposition model, systematic risk assessments, and ex-post cost-benefit analysis are not yet in place. Developing these capabilities could support more comprehensive oversight of digital investments.
While Spain performs well in service standards and GovTech collaboration, gaps remain in the use of data for service design and delivery, and in the measurement of user needs across the service lifecycle. Strengthening these capabilities could support more systematic, evidence-based 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.
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.
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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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