Firm Size and Sector Gaps in Enterprise AI Adoption: Germany and the EU-27 in 2025

Ideal Syka

No 2026-01, i6eal Research Notes in AI Economics and Digital Policy from Syka Ventures UG (haftungsbeschränkt), i6eal

Abstract: This research note uses harmonised Eurostat ICT-usage statistics to describe enterprise artificial-intelligence adoption in Germany relative to the EU-27 in 2025. The population covers enterprises with at least ten employees and self-employed persons in covered non-financial NACE activities. AI use is reported by 25.97% of German enterprises, compared with 19.95% in the EU-27, placing Germany eighth among member states. Adoption rises sharply with firm size in Germany, from 23.06% among enterprises with 10–49 employees to 56.99% among enterprises with 250 or more. Germany exceeds the EU-27 aggregate in each of eight displayed activity groups, with the largest difference in information and communication (75.38% versus 62.52%). The comparisons are descriptive, not causal. Survey flags, missing values and denominators are retained, and a reported German enterprise-definition break in 2025 limits longitudinal interpretation.

Keywords: artificial; intelligence; technology; adoption; firm; size; sector; heterogeneity; Germany; European; Union; digitalisation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: L25 M15 O33 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 7 pages
Date: 2026-07-31, Revised 2026-08-03
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