i6eal Research Note · 2026-01
Firm Size and Sector Gaps in Enterprise AI Adoption: Germany and the EU-27 in 2025
The note compares enterprise AI use in Germany with the EU-27 aggregate in 2025. Germany records 25.97% versus 19.95% and ranks eighth among member states, but the difference varies materially by firm size and economic activity. The analysis is descriptive and makes no causal claims.
One aggregate, three different levels
Germany is above the EU-27 aggregate in 2025. The size of the difference, however, varies materially by firm size and economic activity.
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.
Original abstract of the English-language paper.This issue remains frozen
The live atlas may incorporate later Eurostat revisions. This Research Note, its PDF and its analysis table retain the exact data state supporting the published findings.
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