Article
19 April 2023

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Introduction

To better understand how individuals perceive digital government services, Deloitte surveyed 5,800 people globally. A conscious effort was made to compare the responses from the United States and 12 other countries. The findings on this page and in the full downloadable results aim to unpack both the perception of respondents and their challenges in accessing public services digitally. The analysis also considers the enablers of digital services such as digital identity, willingness to share data, and trust in government of those surveyed.

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  • Global
  • United States

Most respondents still don’t frequently access government through digital channels

Few users surveyed access digital government services frequently. Only 25% of respondents often and always interact with government through digital channels. This leaves governments with a long journey ahead, especially for countries with low usage rates.

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Most respondents still don’t frequently access government through digital channels

Only 23% of US respondents regularly (often + always) interact with government through digital channels, leaving governments with a long journey ahead to increase availability and boost adoption.

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  • Global
  • United States

The public/private satisfaction gap for government services ranges from 38% in South Africa to 8% in Singapore

Satisfaction with government services in Singapore is relatively high. Singapore’s Life SG app assembles a wide variety of government programs through a single interface. Citizens can search for programs and apply for more than 70 services on the Life SG app.1

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Satisfaction with digital government services on average lags the private sector by nearly 20%

Nearly all online government services that were covered in the survey have respondent satisfaction levels below the private sector services that were asked about. Delivering some of these services through a life event approach could improve satisfaction.

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  • Global
  • United States

Use of digital government services varies significantly across demographic groups surveyed

While the shift toward online services during COVID-19 made things easy for many, for some it made things more difficult. COVID-19 highlighted the digital divide and how unprepared some governments were to bridge it.

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Use of digital government services varies significantly across demographic groups surveyed

While the shift toward online services during COVID-19 made things easy for many, for some it made things more difficult. COVID-19 highlighted the digital divide and how unprepared some governments were to bridge it.

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  • Global
  • United States

Survey respondents have a clear preference for interacting with government through websites

Governments should design better websites with a focus on usability, given the strong preference for digital services.

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Survey respondents have a clear preference for interacting with government through websites

Governments should design better websites with a focus on usability, given the strong preference for digital services.

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  • Global
  • United States

Globally, respondents’ trust in government to protect their data is strongly correlated to their satisfaction with digital government services

Individuals who are satisfied with governments’ digital services also tend to place high trust in governments protecting their personal data.

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In the United States, as in other countries, respondents’ trust in government to protect their data is correlated to their satisfaction with digital government services

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Visit the Deloitte Center for Government Insights

Access more insights for the defense, security and justice, government health care, state and local government, transportation and infrastructure, human services, and higher education sectors.

Acknowledgments

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The authors would like to thank Aishwarya Rai and Thirumalai Kannan D. of the Deloitte Center for Government Insights for contributing to survey analysis. The authors would also like to thank David Levin, Satish Nelanuthula, Rohith Reddy Alluri, and Srinivasarao Oguri for their advice on the survey instrument and analyzing the survey data. They would also like to thank Meenakshi Venkateswaran for her help in designing the graphics of the report.

The authors would like to thank Aishwarya Rai and Thirumalai Kannan D. of the Deloitte Center for Government Insights for contributing to survey analysis. The authors would also like to thank David Levin, Satish Nelanuthula, Rohith Reddy Alluri, and Srinivasarao Oguri for their advice on the survey instrument and analyzing the survey data. They would also like to thank Meenakshi Venkateswaran for her help in designing the graphics of the report.

The authors are also grateful to Art Stephens, Bruce Chew, John O’Leary, Rebecca Kapes Osmon, and Joe Mariani for their reviews at critical junctures and contributing their ideas and insights to this survey report.