Cities in digital ranking: Nuremberg and Frankfurt at the top, Duisburg last

In Frankfurt am Main and Nuremberg, the city administration ticks digitally: citizens and companies can apply for a particularly large number of administrative services online. With 18 out of a possible 22 points, the two cities together came top in a recent digitalization ranking by Gisma University of Applied Sciences.

The university compared the online services offered by the 20 largest German cities. Eleven frequently used administrative services were considered, including residence registration, driving license applications, registration certificates and registering a business. Two points were awarded for fully digital applications and one point for e-mail applications.

City ranking: the midfield

The winners Frankfurt and Nuremberg are followed in the GISMA ranking by Stuttgart, Berlin, Bonn, Essen, Hanover, and Bochum. Munich and Hamburg are in the midfield. Duisburg is in last place with just six points, while Bremen is second last with eight points.

Compared to the previous year, Frankfurt took the biggest step forward in the study, with an increase of eight points. In contrast, two cities took a step backwards: Wuppertal lost two points and Munich one point.

Serial winner Nuremberg

“Our study shows that although the digitalization of public offices in Germany continues to make progress, the development depends heavily on the respective location – and in some cases even regresses,” commented Peter Konhäusner, Professor of Digital Entrepreneurship at GISMA.

In 2023, c't also examined the status of digitalization in major German cities. Nuremberg also took first place in this ranking. c't selected a different set of administrative services and, unlike GISMA, did not award any points if applications can be submitted by email.

(cwo)