Digital identity is becoming a practical way to authenticate online, access public services, verify age, and complete financial transactions. Yet availability remains uneven worldwide. In 2024, people in approximately 45% of countries could obtain at least one government-recognized digital identity credential for remote authentication, while more than 2.8 billion people lived in countries without an option to prove their official identity online. In Europe and the United Kingdom, adoption and commercial activity are further advanced, but age, income, digital skills, and the availability of alternatives still shape participation.
Digital identity statistics at a glance
- Global availability and coverage gaps
- European electronic identification use
- The UK digital identity market
- Provider capabilities and customer sectors
- Public understanding and adoption in Great Britain
- Preferences, barriers, and perceived benefits
Global availability and coverage gaps
The World Bank’s Identification for Development data shows that remote identity authentication is still far from universal. In 2024, 89 countries offered at least one government-recognized digital identity credential that enabled remote authentication. That total included 51 high-income countries. Measured across countries, this meant that people in approximately 45% of countries could obtain at least one such credential.
The population-level gap was substantial. More than 2.8 billion people lived in countries without an option to prove their official identity online in 2024. Among people over age 15, about 1.8 billion lived in countries without that option. These figures describe access to an official online proof route; they do not mean that every person in a country with a credential could obtain, use, or afford it.
The availability picture has also been changing. Nine economies launched advanced digital ID systems after 2021: Benin, El Salvador, Greece, Indonesia, Slovenia, Thailand, Uganda, the United Kingdom, and Vietnam. The list illustrates that advanced systems are not limited to one region or income group, although the global dataset still records a large coverage gap.
The measurement is about government-recognized credentials and remote authentication. It should therefore be distinguished from informal online profiles, social-media accounts, avatars, or commercial logins that may identify a user within one service but do not necessarily provide an official identity credential.
European electronic identification use
Eurostat reported that 52% of EU citizens used an electronic identification credential to authenticate themselves when accessing online services in 2025. Use was especially high in some northern European countries. Denmark recorded the highest national eID use, at 99% of people aged 16–74, while Finland recorded 96% among the same age range.
| EU eID measure, 2025 | Share reported |
|---|---|
| Used eID to authenticate when accessing online services | 52% |
| Used eID for public-authority services in their own country | 46% |
| Used eID for public services provided by another European country | 9% |
| Used eID for private-sector online services | 25% |
| Used eID among people aged 65–74 | 36% |
The figures show a difference between domestic and cross-border use. Across the EU, 46% of people used eID to access public-authority services in their own country, but only 9% used it to authenticate with public services provided by another European country. Denmark recorded the highest use for another European country’s public services, at 80%.
Age was another dividing line. The 25–34 and 35–44 groups were the highest eID users in the EU in the preceding 12 months, with each group at 61% in 2025. Among people aged 65–74, reported use was 36%. The age figures are not a measure of ability or preference alone: they reflect use during the stated period and can also be affected by which services people need to access.
Private-sector authentication was less common than overall use. One quarter of people in the EU used eID to access private-sector online services in 2025. The European Commission’s European Digital Identity Wallet fact page also reports that 63% of users want a secure single digital ID for all online services. That is a source-reported survey figure, and the page was updated in 2024; it should not be treated as a 2025 Eurostat estimate.
Source: Eurostat, “E-government and electronic identification”; European Commission, “European Digital Identity Wallet”.
The UK digital identity market
The UK’s digital identity sector had an estimated 275 firms as of January 2026. An estimated 202 of those firms, or 73%, were founded or headquartered in the UK. Among UK-headquartered firms, 73 of 202, or 36%, appeared to have at least one office outside the UK. Those internationally present firms had 214 offices across 51 countries.
The sector also had a measurable economic footprint. UK digital identity firms generated estimated related revenue of £2.027 billion, based on a 2025 estimate reported in the 2026 study. Estimated digital-identity-related gross value added reached £1.037 billion. Employment was estimated at 9,624 full-time equivalents across the 275 firms, with estimated gross value added per employee of £107,800.
| UK sector measure | Reported figure | Measurement period or status |
|---|---|---|
| Digital identity firms | 275 | January 2026 estimate |
| Related revenue | £2.027 billion | 2025 estimate reported in 2026 |
| Related gross value added | £1.037 billion | 2025 estimate reported in 2026 |
| Employment | 9,624 FTEs | 2025 estimate reported in 2026 |
| Gross value added per employee | £107,800 | 2025 estimate reported in 2026 |
Firm size was mixed. Micro firms represented 54% of UK digital identity providers, while large firms represented 12%. Dedicated digital identity firms employed 7,934 FTEs, or 82% of sector employment. International firms accounted for about 37% of UK digital identity employment, equal to 3,583 FTEs. US-headquartered companies accounted for approximately 74% of international digital identity FTEs in the UK, or 2,647 FTEs.
Investment data in the sector analysis reaches back further than the market estimates. Dedicated UK digital identity firms raised £177 million across 30 deals in 2021. This is a historical figure and should not be read as a current annual investment total or as independently verified beyond the cited report.
Source: UK Government, “Digital Identity Sectoral Analysis Report 2026”.
Provider capabilities and customer sectors
The UK sector analysis indicates that providers cover several layers of the identity journey. Identity verification was offered by 75% of UK digital identity providers in January 2026, and attribute verification was offered by 72%. Identity foundations were covered by 61%, while document-based verification was mentioned by 60%.
Biometrics, liveness detection, and verification security were mentioned by 57% of providers. Age assurance was mentioned by 31%. These categories are not mutually exclusive: one provider can offer several capabilities, so the percentages should not be added together or interpreted as market shares.
Providers mentioned almost 4,700 unique customers and partnerships in the 2025–2026 study. Financial and professional services were served by 90% of providers, making them the most widely reported customer sector in the available figures. Healthcare and public services were served by 72%, while technology and digital customers were mentioned by 61%.
Compliance was a prominent use case. Know-your-customer and anti-money-laundering compliance was reported as a use case for 53% of digital identity providers. The customer and capability figures describe what providers reported or mentioned in the sector analysis; they do not establish that every provider has the same scale, product maturity, or number of active users.
Public understanding and adoption in Great Britain
The 2025 UK survey wave, analysed in February 2026, found that 81% of respondents reported at least some understanding of digital identity. The remaining 19% reported limited understanding. Understanding varied by age and household income. Some understanding was reported by 86% of respondents aged 25–34 and by 76% of respondents aged 18–24.
Household income was also associated with reported understanding. Among respondents with annual household income below £20,000, 72% reported some understanding. Among respondents with annual household income of £40,000 or more, the figure was 88%. These are survey results, not evidence that income itself causes a particular level of knowledge.
The survey identified other differences in reported understanding. Limited understanding was reported by 32% of respondents with lower levels of identification documents and by 23% of respondents with lower digital skills. The categories describe survey groups and should be read as indicators of unequal familiarity or readiness, not as a complete assessment of digital exclusion.
Reported use was higher than universal understanding. Seventy-seven percent of UK survey respondents said they had used a digital identity service for at least one purpose, while 23% said they had never used one. Digital proof of identity was reported by 40% of respondents for insurance policies, online credit or loan applications, and opening a bank account. The cited figure groups those purposes together rather than providing a separate percentage for each one.
Preferences, barriers, and perceived benefits
Digital identity use depends on context. Twenty-three percent of UK survey respondents reported using digital proof of identity for online games or gambling accounts. Thirty-nine percent preferred digital identity verification for age-restricted purchases made online, and 36% preferred it for government or NHS services.
Physical verification remained preferred in some face-to-face situations. Forty-one percent preferred physical identity verification for proving age in person at a bar, restaurant, or cinema. Among non-users of digital identity services, 29% preferred using physical ID when possible. Another 29% of non-users said they had not needed to prove their identity, while 15% said no digital option had been provided.
| UK survey preference or perception | Share reported |
|---|---|
| Preferred digital verification for age-restricted online purchases | 39% |
| Preferred digital verification for government or NHS services | 36% |
| Preferred physical verification for in-person age checks | 41% |
| Said digital identity would be quicker than physical ID | 32% |
| Said secure storage of personal information would be a benefit | 21% |
Perceived convenience was one reason people may value digital identity. Thirty-two percent of UK respondents said a digital identity service would be quicker than verifying with physical ID. Twenty-one percent said secure storage of personal information would be a benefit. These are reported perceptions from the 2025 survey wave, analysed in February 2026, rather than measured time savings or a security audit.
Taken together, the statistics point to a market with expanding capabilities and significant adoption, but also uneven access and conditional trust. Global coverage remains incomplete; EU use is strongest in domestic services and among working-age groups; and UK survey responses show that people’s choices vary according to the service, the availability of a digital route, and their comfort with physical or digital proof.