Digital Transformation in Rural Hungary: Infrastructure, Skills and Uptake Across Regions

Dániel Fróna () and Dorina Fróna-Hadas
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Dániel Fróna: Institute of Economics, Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Debrecen, Böszörményi Str. 138, 4032 Debrecen, Hungary
Dorina Fróna-Hadas: MOL Group, Dombóvári út 28, 1117 Budapest, Hungary

Land, 2025, vol. 14, issue 10, 1-24

Abstract: Rural digitalization in Hungary from 2010 to 2024 is examined, focusing on infrastructure, digital skills, and sectoral uptake. Using secondary data, an interrupted time-series model determines national household internet access, and a regional panel includes post-2020 slope terms. Nationally, uptake continued and accelerated after 2020, while regional trajectories remained broadly parallel, indicating persistent yet narrowing territorial differences. Market indicators point to a capacity-heavy fixed network with county-level disparities, suggesting that affordability and competencies shape the remaining rural gaps. There is a need for place-based policies that jointly target last-mile infrastructure, affordability, and skills to convert access into practical use in rural economies.

Keywords: rural digitalization; digital divide; ICT infrastructure; digital skills; Hungary (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q15 Q2 Q24 Q28 Q5 R14 R52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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