Europe grows more reliant on foreign digital technology while China and US cut theirs

What the index measures

Researchers at the Center for Advanced Security, Strategic and Integration Studies (CASSIS) at the University of Bonn, working with the Vodafone Institute for Society and Communication, published their comparison on Wednesday, 28 October 2026. Their Digital Dependence Index (DDI) runs from 0 for full independence to 1 for complete dependence on foreign technology. It covers 51 industrialised and developing countries between 2010 and 2023 across four areas: hardware trade, IT services, digital platforms and technology patents. Over that period, the average dependence of European states rose by 0.5 percentage points to 0.69.

Diverging trends

China reduced its dependence by 10.8 percentage points, to 0.43, while the United States cut its figure by 6.0 percentage points, to 0.38. That leaves the US as the most technologically self-sufficient country in the ranking. Europe is moving in the opposite direction over the same 14-year window. The chart below sets the changes for each side next to each other.

Europe (average)0.5

China-10.8

United States-6

Germany2.4

Europe (average)

0.5 percentage points

China

-10.8 percentage points

United States

-6 percentage points

Germany

2.4 percentage points

Data from the article text

Germany's position

Germany ranks 25th worldwide with a DDI of 0.73, in the middle of the field alongside Austria and Thailand. Its dependence increased by 2.4 percentage points between 2010 and 2023, mainly because of growing reliance on foreign software and IT services. Among the European countries analysed, Germany has the lowest dependence on foreign information and communication technology patents. Poland's overall index stands at 0.65.

Germany0.73

Europe (average)0.69

Poland0.65

China0.43

United States0.38

Germany

0.73 index (0 to 1)

Europe (average)

0.69 index (0 to 1)

Poland

0.65 index (0 to 1)

China

0.43 index (0 to 1)

United States

0.38 index (0 to 1)

Data from the article text

Patents and platforms

Germany's low patent dependence does not mean the German economy can compete on equal terms with global leaders. Over the analysed period, the average distance in that category was 26% to the United States, 20% to China and 12% to South Korea. Digital platforms are a different matter, and the study finds European countries almost entirely dependent on foreign providers for operating systems, search engines and social media.