Digitalization is reshaping manufacturing – but countries’ ability to benefit from it depends on more than technology alone.
A new UNIDO study assesses the Western Balkans across four dimensions of digital readiness:
🔹 Enabling infrastructure
🔹 Production capabilities
🔹 Innovation capabilities
🔹 Digital capabilities
The analysis benchmarks six Western Balkan economies and examines how their capabilities have evolved, providing a clearer picture of where the region is progressing -and where important gaps remain.
One finding stands out: the region’s digital readiness is shaped by different strengths across countries.
🔹Serbia emerges as the Western Balkans’ frontrunner, with strong performance across several foundational capability dimensions.
🔹Montenegro stands out for its performance in enabling infrastructure.
🔹 North Macedonia leads in digital capabilities, reflecting its growing engagement with production technologies with digital potential and advanced digital production technologies.
The report also highlights an important challenge: while the region has made positive progress, it continues to lag behind the EU average across several indicators.
📘 Explore two UNIDO publications on digital readiness in the Western Balkans:
1. https://lnkd.in/dsuXTdRA
2. https://lnkd.in/dba7XXAt
October 6, 2026
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