Munich, Germany. 28th January, 2022 – On the 15th annual Data Privacy Day (Friday, 28th January), the data protection providers at heyData have published a study that provides an insight into the comparative levels of data protection in 21 European countries.
Ireland ranked highest with the strongest combination of law enforcement, company and individual data protection, plus privacy expertise. Germany and The Netherlands followed in second and third place. (See table)
The study found that UK companies are the best in Europe when it comes to data protection. British firms scored highly for their compulsory data protection training, and their low levels of data loss and data leakage. Only 2% of British companies have experienced data loss, and only 1% have experienced a data leak.
Four out of every 10 UK companies have their own data protection strategy, a figure exceeded only by Denmark and Ireland. Furthermore, data protection violations in the UK have actually fallen since the pandemic (-27%), whereas most other European countries experienced an increase (for example, +76% in Germany).
Vulnerable to fraud
However, on an individual level, British people are more vulnerable to data privacy breaches, in the individual data protection category, the country ranks a lowly 16th out of the 21 countries evaluated. This is largely attributable to the UK’s exceptionally high number of fraudulent payments, 7.3% of Brits experienced some kind of false or illegal payment, which is the highest percentage in Europe.
Table: The best countries in Europe for data protection
The entire ranking list and all information on the methodology can be found at: here
| Country | Final Evaluation | Enforcement of Laws | Company Data Protection | Individual DataProtection | Privacy Expertise | Social Mood | |
| 1 | Ireland | 100 | 80.6 | 85.1 | 100 | 43.9 | 100 |
| 2 | Germany | 80.3 | 74.6 | 60.9 | 81.9 | 70.9 | 66.7 |
| 3 | Netherlands | 73.6 | 88.8 | 50.9 | 50 | 95.6 | 51.3 |
| 4 | United Kingdom | 64.8 | 52.1 | 100 | 9.2 | 58.4 | 92.3 |
| 5 | Denmark | 59.5 | 73.1 | 98.3 | 0 | 82.3 | 43.6 |
| 6 | Finland | 58.9 | 38.9 | 51 | 64.8 | 100 | 41 |
| 7 | Belgium | 44.3 | 5.3 | 51.7 | 72.1 | 46.6 | 79.5 |
| 8 | Sweden | 41.2 | 100 | 65.3 | 9.2 | 72.1 | 0 |
| 9 | Italy | 38.5 | 79 | 73.2 | 33.4 | 0 | 53.8 |
| 10 | Austria | 37.3 | 2.2 | 38.7 | 85 | 68.8 | 41 |
“In a European comparison, companies in the UK are for the most part very exemplary. However, this is also necessary. Law enforcement in the UK is handled strictly. We see a significant increase in violations and fines during the pandemic. Especially companies that have rediscovered online trading during the pandemic should definitely ensure that they are working in compliance with the GDPR from the outset,” says Milos Djurdjevic, CEO and founder of heyData.
Further findings:
- People in Ireland have the greatest fear of data abuse. There, 83% of the population are afraid that their data will fall into the wrong hands. Germany, with 70%, ranks in second place.
- Italy and Germany impose the most fines for violations of the GDPR.
- Germany has had the most data protection violations since the introduction of the GDPR.
- Sweden has the toughest enforcement of laws in GDPR.
- Ireland are the winners in the data protection ranking with a final evaluation of 100.
Comment on this article below or via Twitter: @VanillaPlus OR @jcvplus
