How digital are the federal states? How quickly is digitalisation progressing? What characterises the federal states’ digital policies? The Bitkom State Index provides answers to these questions. Using more than 1,100 data points, the digital ranking assesses and evaluates the federal states every two years across the areas of digital society, the digital economy, digital infrastructure, and governance & administration.

In 2026, three federal states share the top three places in the Digital Society category: Saarland with 73.2 points, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania with 72.8 points and Saxony with 72.7 points out of 100. The overall average for the category in 2026 is 64.8 points.

Measuring social progress

In order to assess the level of digital participation across the federal states, a survey was conducted to gauge citizens’ digital skills and attitudes towards digitalisation. The provision of computer science lessons in the federal states was also evaluated.

Saarland, which came top of the rankings, stands out for its particularly strong development of digital skills, as well as its citizens’ particularly positive attitude towards digitalisation. This is also demonstrated by state-specific flagship projects such as the TUMO Boxes highlighted in the ranking. At these centres, located throughout the state, children and young people have the opportunity to acquire digital skills close to home. Overall, Saarland has jumped from 12th to 6th place in this year’s ranking, making it the biggest climber in the 2026 State Index.

New federal states lead the way in digital inclusion

Another finding from this year’s State Index concerns regional differences, as the new federal states are leading the way in the Digital Society category. Alongside Saxony and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania on the podium, Thuringia also achieved an above-average score of 69 points, placing it fourth.

This is primarily down to digital education: in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, there are six compulsory hours of computer science across all school types, whilst in Saxony, 9 per cent of teachers teach computer science. “With its digital education initiatives, the east is laying the foundations for a stronger digital economy in the region in the future,” emphasises Bitkom President Ralf Wintergerst, referring to the 2026 State Index.

More information on the study results is available here or live on site at #SCCON26.