DSI: Digital Sovereignty Index Score
DAL: Data Accessibility Level
Digital Sovereignty Index
WHAT IS DIGITAL SOVEREIGNTY?
Digital sovereignty refers to the capacity of a state to exercise strategic autonomy over the technological infrastructures, digital systems, informational flows, and governance mechanisms operating within its territory and across its sphere of influence. In the twenty-first century, sovereignty increasingly depends on the ability to control semiconductor production, cloud infrastructure, telecommunications, artificial intelligence ecosystems, digital regulation, cyber capabilities, and data governance architectures.
The DSI approaches sovereignty as a cumulative structure of technological power rather than merely a question of internet access or digitalization. Countries may possess widespread digital consumption while remaining structurally dependent on foreign infrastructures, platforms, standards, and technological ecosystems.
THE DSI STRUCTURE
HARDWARE (H)
Measures control over physical technological infrastructure, including semiconductors, telecommunications systems, cloud infrastructure, energy capacity, strategic minerals, and advanced industrial manufacturing.
H1: Network infrastructure and connectivity, including fiber optic cables, routers, and internet exchange points.
H2: Data centers and cloud hardware, that is, national control over the structures that sustain digital services.
H3: Critical components and manufacturing capacity. Refers to the ability to produce and commercialize technological materials.
H4: Strategic space and satellite assets. The control over the use of space infrastructure.
SOFTWARE (S)
Measures national capacity to develop, maintain, and deploy software ecosystems, platforms, operating systems, cloud services, cybersecurity tools, and digital services with reduced external dependency.
S1: Operational and productivity environments. Refers to the use of systems and software without depending on another nation.
S2: Sovereign cloud and virtualization stack. Refers to the infrastructure that stores national information and supports governmental use and critical data.
S3: Critical public systems. National control over systems such as taxation, social security, elections, and defense management.
S4: Interoperability and data standards. The capacity to define national technical standards for data exchange and storage.
COGNITION (C)
Measures the production of scientific knowledge, artificial intelligence capabilities, research ecosystems, advanced education, innovation capacity, and strategic informational influence.
C1: Formal strategies and their authorship. National plans concerning cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, data, and defense.
C2: Education and training ecosystems. Refers to the capacity to train highly qualified professionals in technology and infrastructure defense.
C3: Epistemic communities and think tank production. The existence of research centers, institutes, and academic communities that produce knowledge.
C4: Narrative autonomy in official discourse. The country’s capacity to define, with its own voice, its discourse on technology and digital sovereignty.
GOVERNANCE (G)
Measures the capacity of states to regulate digital systems, discipline transnational technology corporations, enforce legal jurisdiction over data flows, and shape international technological standards and norms.
G1: Legal framework. The existence of legislation on data protection, cybersecurity, platform regulation, and public procurement.
G2: Institutional architecture. The existence of agencies responsible for regulating technology platforms.
G3: Regulatory capacity vis-à-vis major providers. The effectiveness of the country in compelling companies to comply with national laws.
G4: Participation and global agenda-setting power. The capacity to influence, rather than merely import, the norms and standards that govern the digital environment.
SCORING
For each dimension, the DSI evaluates whether countries are capable of capturing economic, industrial, geopolitical, and strategic value from technological systems, rather than merely consuming foreign technologies, and assigns a score for each subdimension. The average of all scores is normalized to produce a final score ranging from 0 to 100.
0
No effective control. Severe dependency, below the level of use.
1
Domain of use. The country is capable of operating the technology, but does not control its conditions of supply.
2
Domain of acquisition/specification. The country controls, acquires, or specifies the technology without restrictions imposed by external actors.
3
Domain of production. Full capacity to develop and reproduce the technology autonomously.
4
Domain of the value chain. The country produces, exports, and captures economic returns from the technology in both national and global markets.
DATA ACCESSIBILITY LEVELS
For each dimension, the DSI evaluates whether countries are capable of capturing economic, industrial, geopolitical, and strategic value from technological systems, rather than merely consuming foreign technologies, and assigns a score for each subdimension.
A
Excellent Accessibility. Extensive availability of transparent, standardized, and internationally comparable data across most technological and institutional dimensions.
B
Moderate Accessibility. Broad accessibility of relevant data, though with moderate gaps requiring partial triangulation between sources.
C
Limited Accessibility. Fragmented or inconsistent data availability requiring significant use of indirect indicators and external estimations.
D
Minimal Accessibility. Severe limitations in transparency or public data availability, with assessments relying primarily on external or secondary sources.
Sources: National legislation, government reports, international databases (ITU, World Bank, OECD, IMF, WIPO), specialized indexes, academic literature, industrial reports (semiconductors, AI, telecommunications, cloud infrastructure), and expert coding.
CITE OUR WORK
ROCHA-DASHICHEVA, I. W.; DASHICHEV, A. D.; LUDOVICO, L. B.; PIAZZA, F. C.; SILVA, E. C. de M.; VAZ, J. C.; LUCENA, J. P. F. de O.; CARNEIRO, G.; TEIXEIRA, L.; ROCHA, I.; MAGALHÃES, N.; CAMELLO, J.; SIMONI, C. I.; RAEL, R. C.; SILVA, I. V. C. A. de S. e.; TÉLLEZ-ZEPEDA, C. A. Digital Sovereignty Index [v. 1.0]: an expert-coded country ranking of digital sovereignty. Versão 1.0. Zenodo, 2026. DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.20277297. Disponível em: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.20277297.
Digital Sovereignty Index (DSI) 2026 | Global Rankings & Country Analysis