The fifth version of the European Digital Competence Framework (DigComp 3.0) was officially presented by the European Commission on 12 December 2025. Beyond a general update of the previous version, this new edition represents a significant adaptation to emerging challenges such as artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, disinformation, digital rights, and well-being in the digital environment.
Innovations
Twelve years after the publication of the first version, DigComp 3.0, developed by the Joint Research Centre (JRC) of the European Commission, confirms its role as the fundamental European reference framework for defining the knowledge, skills, and attitudes required to interact with digital technologies in a safe, critical, and responsible manner in learning, work, and society at large.
DigComp was created with the aim of clarifying what it truly means to be digitally competent, providing a shared language and a standardized methodology to support citizens along a pathway for developing digital competences, from basic to advanced levels.
The document introduces a series of comprehensive updates and improvements designed to make the framework clearer, more coherent, and better aligned with current application contexts. A key feature is the transversal integration of artificial intelligence competences, no longer considered a specialized domain but rather an enabling technology affecting all everyday digital practices. The European Union has therefore chosen to integrate AI across all areas of the framework in order to foster critical awareness, responsibility, and human control in the use of digital systems. The goal is not to teach AI from a purely technical perspective, but to strengthen its understanding within the broader context of digital citizenship.
Target audience
DigComp is intended for anyone interested in understanding and identifying digital competence needs and supporting their development, including policy makers, employers, researchers, managers, educators, and citizens seeking to enhance their digital skills.
Purpose
DigComp 3.0 is grounded on the European Declaration on Digital Rights and Principles for the Digital Decade and the Digital Decade Policy Programme, which guide the European Union’s digital transformation through 2030. Its objective is to promote a human-centered, inclusive, and sustainable digital transition.
According to the 2025 State of the Digital Decade Report published by the European Commission, only 56% of the European population currently possess at least basic digital skills, while 8% do not use the internet at all. In this context, DigComp 3.0 aims to ensure that by 2030 at least 80% of European adults have basic digital competences, enabling full participation in the digital economy and society.
Definition of digital competence
Digital competence is defined as the set of knowledge, skills, and attitudes required to confidently, critically, and responsibly use and interact with digital technologies for learning, work, and participation in society. In this sense, DigComp positions itself as a stable reference point for digital competence in a rapidly evolving technological landscape.
How to read DigComp
The following sections analyze the structure of DigComp 3.0 and its key components. Understanding how to interpret this framework is essential for using it effectively as a tool for analyzing, designing, and assessing citizens’ digital competences.
Competence areas
DigComp is structured around five
Competence areas:
- Information search evaluation, management
- Communication and collaboration
- Content creation
- Safety, well-being, and responsible use
- Problem identification and solving
Competences
Within the competence areas, DigComp identifies 21 Competences, each defined as a combination of knowledge, skills, and attitudes, with between three and six competences per area.
Proficiency levels
For each competence, four
Proficiency levels are defined (basic, intermediate, advanced, and highly advanced), describing the progression in individuals’ ability to complete tasks in digital environments. These levels are determined based on adherence to the competence statements.
Competence statements
DigComp includes 362 Competence statements grouped according to citizens’ general proficiency levels, without distinguishing between knowledge, skills, or attitudes.
AI labels indicate whether artificial intelligence is explicitly mentioned [AI-E] or implicitly relevant [AI-I].
For example, within competence area 1 “Information search, evaluation and management” competence 1.1 “Browsing, searching, and filtering information” includes 15 competence statements (CS1.1.01 to CS1.1.15) whose fulfillment allows citizens to be positioned within one of the four proficiency levels.
Learning outcomes
Alongside competence statements, DigComp identifies 523 Learning outcomes classified by proficiency level and by whether they relate to knowledge, skills, or attitudes. Learning outcomes provide the most detailed view of the framework and are used for highly operational purposes, such as designing training pathways, educational content, and assessment tools.
As with competence statements, AI labels indicate explicit [AI-E] or implicit [AI-I] relevance of artificial intelligence.
For example, within competence area 1 “Information search, evaluation and management” competence 1.1 “Browsing, searching, and filtering information” includes 21 learning outcomes (L01.1.01 to L01.1.21) that enable assessment of citizens’ competences across the four proficiency levels.
In DigComp 3.0, competence statements and learning outcomes represent two complementary approaches to assessing citizens’ digital competences. Competence statements support level-based assessment, while learning outcomes allow for a more analytical and operational evaluation. These approaches may be used independently or in an integrated manner, depending on the purpose, while maintaining coherence and adaptability across contexts.
Conclusions
DigComp 3.0 confirms itself as a strategic reference tool for guiding public policies, educational pathways, and training initiatives aimed at developing digital competences for all citizens. By providing a common language, the framework supports lifelong learning and helps reduce digital divides and vulnerabilities.
In this perspective, DigComp contributes to ensuring participation, inclusion, autonomy, and protection for citizens in the digital environment, becoming a cornerstone of a fair, people-centered digital society.