In the context of an exponential increase in public service digitalization, development of digital governance solutions, and increased access to the internet, which is available to the majority of the population of the Republic of Moldova, the e-Governance Agency measures annually the level of perception and uptake of digital public services by the population through the Annual National Survey (ANS), and satisfaction with access to services in digital format.

The results of the latest survey, conducted from August 23^rd to September 10^th, 2023, on a sample of 3040 people, aged 18+, from 13 geographical regions, provide a detailed insight into the development in the use of electronic public services. The survey was conducted based on several indicators:

Satisfaction with the quality of e-services is on the rise

The combined indicator of user satisfaction with the quality of public services delivered electronically has increased by 10% since 2022. Users of the services.gov.md portal report a satisfaction level of 76.3%, while users of specialized websites of provider institutions are 74.4%.

41.3% of respondents rated the quality of electronic public services as high or medium.

Access preferences

More than half of the respondents (55.3%) who used any public services in the last 12 months say that at least one of the services was accessed electronically.

Given a choice between the two ways of accessing a service, online or offline, more than half of respondents (56%) say they would choose to access the public service online, compared to 39.7% who opt for the traditional, offline method at the desk.

Level of digital literacy

Skills in operating electronic devices and surfing the internet clearly determine users’ abilities to access electronic services. According to the survey:

40.5% declared themselves independent users, saying that they prefer to access online services independently, without support from others.

31.0% prefer to access on their own, but still acknowledge that they would need support from other people: they are described in the survey as assisted users

26.2% of respondents can be defined as “delegators” or users with high support needs, preferring to delegate entirely to another person to access and obtain the e-service.

It should be noted that the percentage of assisted users decreased by 5 and the percentage of independent users increased from the previous year by about 2%.

Young people (aged 18-29) used e-services six times more often than the elderly (aged 60-74).

Devices to access electronic public services

In 2023, the preference for accessing e-services via mobile phone is expected to increase at the expense of computer access. The survey data shows that more and more people access public e-services via mobile phone (81.2%), 3% more than in 2022 and 8% more than in 2021.

Just a year ago, people overwhelmingly preferred to access e-services from their computers, now the balance is shifting towards mobile devices.

The most popular electronic public services

Among the most accessed public services available in digital format are:

electronic population documentation services (36.7%), electronic tax services (34.0%), electronic cadastral services (22.3%), and e-CNAS services (21.2%)

e-Governance benefits

The vast majority of respondents (57.2%) believe that the implementation of e-Governance will bring many advantages and benefits to citizens. The main benefits expected by the population as a result of the reform to modernise government services are:

-          eliminating corruption

-          reducing the number of visits needed to obtain public services

-          reducing costs

-          reducing the number of documents needed

-          reducing the time it takes to obtain a service.

Internet access on the rise

The vast majority of respondents (91.2%) access the Internet daily. The survey shows that 88.1% of households are connected to the internet.

Information sources for the population

The Internet and TV remain the main sources of information, with 90% cumulatively. There is an increase in online information. The Internet has become a main source of information, overtaking television. In particular, news pages and social media (52%), outperform dedicated government websites (21.6%).

Conclusions and perspectives for the future

The majority of respondents say they are willing and open to using e-services, with 47.4%, above the 2020 and 2021 figures.

The survey results show a shift from the traditional (offline) form of accessing public services to online access. The difference between the share of online and offline access is relatively small (54.5% vs. 52.6%), but it is the point where the rate of online access exceeds offline access for the first time since these measurements have been made. 

The survey is conducted annually on behalf of the e-Governance Agency to measure the results of implementing the project “Modernization of Government Services” (MGSP), implemented by the e-Governance Agency with the support of the World Bank. The core objective of the MGSP is to increase access, efficiency, and quality in the delivery of government services.

The full report is available HERE.