Disclaimer: The data presented in this analysis is sourced via https://apps.similarweb.com. These figures provide a unified comparative metric across markets and may differ from actual adoption or usage statistics reported by national authorities.

From national apps to the EUDI Wallet

In January 2026, we prepared an extensive analysis of eID app adoption on our blog, mapping Europe’s digital maturity.

At the time, we pointed out that although no country yet possesses a fully ready EUDI (European Digital Identity Wallet), current state and banking applications form the foundation upon which this new reality will be built.

The 2 months that have passed since our previous analysis represent almost an era in the world of digital identity. 

Work on the standardised, EU–wide wallet has accelerated, and the regulatory landscape has become even clearer. The key driver of change is the eIDAS 2.0 regulation, which not only imposes a framework for the future EUDI Wallet but is already having a real impact on the private sector.

As we analyse in detail in our material on the impact of eIDAS 2.0 on SCA and private entities, the new legal reality is forcing companies to redefine their methods of authorisation and identity verification.

This ensures that in markets like France, the EUDI Wallet will not face a "cold start" problem; instead, it will inherit a mature, active user base that has already established digital identity habits, allowing for a seamless and high-volume transition to the unified European standard from day one.

Map of eID app maturity across markets

Before we move on to the rankings, let’s recall the division of power in Europe as of January 2026. 

Not all countries are at the same stage in advancing current wallets. In our further analysis, we focus exclusively on Advanced markets (fully operational systems) and Transition markets (active implementations/pilots). 

We are setting aside countries in the Early category – they are only just building their legislative foundations. 

We are seeing the highest level of activity and user interest within the Advanced and Transition groups.

One should also have a reference to the names of individual eID applications divided into State and Private Wallets/BankID.

The digital battle for the adult user

The latest reach data (App Reach) for February 2026 shows the real scale of penetration of state eID solutions among adult citizens.

This indicator allows for the precise identification of markets where the digital wallet has already become a social standard.

Private sector as the adoption leader

The reach analysis shows results that actually stem from the dominance of private solutions over state ones:

• Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia (89.8%) – Smart–ID: Baltic countries sit at the top of the list, setting the standard for adoption. Such a phenomenal result is due to the ubiquity of this independent authentication app, which has become the standard in banking and the private sector across the region.
• Sweden and Finland (0%): The 0% result (or lack of data) in government app statistics on our charts can be misleading. These countries are the most digital in the EU (nearly 100% reach), and citizens there exclusively use banking systems (e.g., BankID in Sweden). Since governments have not yet issued their own "wallet" apps, the statistics show zero – even though e-identity is a part of everyday life there.

Mature mass markets

The high level of penetration in countries with large populations confirms the maturity of their digital ecosystems:

• Turkey (59.5%) – e–Devlet Kapısı: The number of accounts in the app has exceeded the 68 million barrier. A new feature is the total digitalisation of the real estate market – owner verification and lease agreement confirmations are now handled exclusively through the app, eliminating visits to notaries for address-related matters.
• Ukraine (51.8%) – Diia: This platform serves as a reference point for the functional scope of the EUDI wallet. Ukraine was the first to abandon sending scans in favour of native data exchange (so-called attributes). Thanks to biometrics and digital signatures, starting a company or signing a contract takes seconds, setting the speed standard for all of Europe.
• Netherlands (46.6%) – DigiD: This system remains the digital backbone of the state (taxes, health, pensions). Building on this foundation, NL–Wallet trials launched in Q1 2026. A new feature is integration with mortgages – clients send data from state registers (BRP) directly to the bank, shortening verification from days to minutes.

Mass Adoption Drivers

This group currently forms the strongest middle of the table (reach 35–42%). These states have opted for a consolidated model, aiming to create a "first choice" app for everything:

• Italy (41.5%) – CIE ID and Spain (41.2%) – Cl@ve: Both countries have reached mass scale thanks to new "life" functions. In Q1 2026, Italy implemented a fully digital driving licence and vehicle registration document with a QR code for roadside checks. While these features are accessed via the IO app, CIE ID has became the mandatory secure gateway for drivers. Spain, meanwhile, focused on digital powers of attorney, allowing citizens to authorise relatives to handle official matters with a single click on their phone.
• Poland (34.9%) – mObywatel 2.0: In Q1 2026, key new features included e-Deliveries (digital registered letters replacing paper) and professional IDs (e.g., for doctors, teachers). Consequently, the app has become an essential tool for work and communication with authorities, rather than just a digital wallet.

Poland, Italy, and Spain demonstrate that the digitalisation of various public services is the most effective way to exceed the critical mass of users and build the foundation for the future EUDI standard.

Growth dynamics on the eve of the EUDI Wallet

Reach (App Reach) alone is a static image – it shows what has been built so far.

However, to understand which countries have the most "momentum" in March 2026, we introduced the Velocity metric.

It shows the percentage increase in the user base in just two months (January–February 2026) relative to cumulative downloads from previous years.

European Sprinters (Over 30% growth)

The biggest surprise of early 2026 comes from countries rapidly catching up:

• United Kingdom (39.6%) – GOV.UK One Login: The British government has carried out an aggressive consolidation, replacing over a dozen different systems with a single app. This app is a universal "key" to all public services (from taxes to benefits). In Q1 2026, it was made the mandatory access point for the most popular social and health benefits (NHS), forcing millions of downloads in record time. The app not only verifies identity via biometrics but allows for instant login to any department without the need to create separate accounts.
• Switzerland (33.5%) – Swiyu: The app forms the foundation of the new state e-ID system, which in March 2026 is in an advanced nationwide pilot phase. The record dynamics are the result of gradually making the tool available to wider test groups in selected cantons and full technical integration with biometric passports and ID cards. A key magnet for users has become a feature – already being operationally implemented by the first financial institutions within regulatory sandboxes – allowing for the opening of bank accounts without video verification. By using the NFC module to read the chip in the document and facial verification, the identity confirmation process is shortened to just 30 seconds. Although the total number of users remains smaller than in mass markets, this radical improvement in digital convenience is driving the current pace of adoption.

New Wave of Adoption (10% – 20% growth)

This group includes countries that, despite a solid base, managed to generate double-digit growth thanks to new functionalities:

• Belgium (19.6%) – MyGov.be: The app has evolved from the role of a digital wallet towards being a citizen's "federal assistant". In March 2026, it was integrated with the eBox system (official government mail) and a digital version of the European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) was added. A breakthrough proved to be enabling the management of family benefits and medical reimbursements directly in the app, leading citizens to treat the state solution as a fully-fledged alternative to the commercial leader, itsme.
• Italy (11.4%) – CIE ID: The app has become the essential secure gateway for the Italian digital ecosystem, recording a high App Velocity (volume) in early 2026. While the actual display of documents (like digital driving licenses) and fine notifications happens within the service layer (IO app), CIE ID is the primary beneficiary of this demand. The implementation of "push" notifications for traffic fines and the 30% early-payment discount acted as a massive utility trigger. To access these time-sensitive benefits, millions of citizens were required to authenticate via CIE ID, driving the rapid surge in new installations and confirming its role as the mandatory entry point for high-value digital services.
• France (10.4%) – France Identité: The main driver of growth in January and February was preparing citizens for the March local elections. The app became essential for establishing a fully digital power of attorney, eliminating the need for identity verification at a police station. While Age Verification is the next stage, it was the simplification of electoral procedures that fueled the current dynamics.
• Romania (18.6%) – ROeID and Slovakia (14.9%) – Slovensko v mobile: Both markets are leaving the early adoption phase thanks to the integration of eID with everyday services. Romania gained users through support for e-prescriptions and taxes, while Slovakia did so by replacing card readers with biometrics, simplifying benefit applications. However, the strong focus on state services combined with a lack of broad availability of these solutions in the private sector remains a challenge.

Stable Growth of Leaders (Poland and Spain)

• Poland (5.8%) and Spain (5.3%): The previously mentioned countries, although no longer recording triple-digit jumps, see every percentage point translate into hundreds of thousands of new installations per month given their millions of active users. The strategy of successively implementing high-utility services – like Polish e-Deliveries or Spanish digital powers of attorney – transforms incidental downloads into a lasting digital habit.

High dynamics in countries like Switzerland or Belgium prove how quickly utility can break the barrier to entry. However, real strength before the arrival of the EUDI Wallet is evidenced by the combination of dynamics and mass scale. 

Countries such as the UK, Italy, and Poland prove they can not only attract users with new features but do so on a scale of millions. 

It is this huge number of new downloads in a short time that translates directly into what we will see in the next part of our report: the battle for the top of the rankings in the Google Play and Apple App Stores.

The digital popularity plebiscite of eID

After analysing reach and dynamics, it is time to look at what is happening "here and now" in mobile stores. 

The Google Play and Apple App Store rankings are the sensitive barometer of social sentiment.  A position in the TOP 50 indicates current demand and suggests that the app is successfully transitioning from a government requirement to a functional digital tool.

Analysing these listings allows us to understand how different nations approach the concept of an "identity wallet".

Why do Apple and Google rankings differ?

When analysing the data, we notice significant discrepancies in the positions of the same app depending on the store (e.g., France Identité is #2 in the App Store, but remains outside the TOP 50 in Google Play). This divergence results from several objective factors:

• User Ecosystem & Behavior (The Activation Gap): iOS users demonstrate a higher propensity for digital wallet adoption. This is driven by the deep integration of Apple Wallet into daily life – from payments to transit. For these users, adding an eID is a low-friction evolution of existing habits, not a new digital behavior. While Android dominates in total device volume, iOS leads in the "activation rate" of advanced identity features.
• Technical Standards (The NFC Standard):  High-security eID functions, such as reading the biometric chip of an ID card via NFC, benefit from Apple’s unified hardware ecosystem. Unlike the fragmented Android landscape – where NFC chip quality and antenna placement vary wildly across thousands of budget and flagship models – the iPhone offers a predictable, "it just works" experience. This technical consistency allows for smoother onboarding and rapid feature deployment, triggering the sudden download spikes observed in our data.
• Barrier to Entry in Google Play (Volume): In markets dominated by Android (Poland, Turkey, Italy), fighting for the TOP 10 requires a gigantic scale. To appear in the top tier of Google Play in a large country, an app must generate a minimum of 250–300 thousand downloads per month. 

The battle for the first–choice wallet

The rankings reveal 3 main models of competing for user attention:

I. Complementary Model (Belgium):

This is one of the most interesting market cases of early 2026.

Although the state app MyGov.be records growth dynamics (20%), it is not designed to displace the private leader – itsme. Rather than fighting for the same user sessions, the two apps fulfill distinct, complementary roles.

• itsme (#9 Apple, #12 Google): Remains the default tool in the commercial sector, primarily used for authorising transactions in banking and insurance.
• MyGov.be (#5 Apple, outside TOP 50 Google): Has become the "trusted container" for digital documents, such as driving licences or civil status records.

Success for MyGov.be is proof of the state's effectiveness as a digital archive of documents, while the private sector continues to dominate in the area of secure authentication and transactions.

II. Consolidated Model (Poland and Italy):

In these countries, the state is building its position as the first-choice wallet. mObywatel 2.0 and CIE ID dominate the rankings (TOP 3) as essential tools for physical documents.

While the service-oriented IO app maintains its presence (#18 Google, #12 Apple), the authentication layer – CIE ID – captured the #1 spot in Google Play and #2 in the App Store.

This dominance is fueled by structural integration: in Poland, bank-led authorization acts as a key "engine" for state apps, while in Italy, merging SPID functions with CIE ID has accelerated Volume Velocity for the primary authentication tool.

III. Decentralised Model and the upcoming change (Nordic countries):

In Sweden, Norway, and Finland, the situation is currently the opposite of the rest of Europe.

State Wallets practically do not exist in the rankings because the market is completely occupied by banking systems. March 2026, however, is a moment of preparation for a historic change.

Sweden has officially announced the implementation of the state Sverige–ID, scheduled to launch on 1 December 2026. It will be free and universal, forming the foundation for the EU EUDI Wallet.

• Ranking "absence": This is a key fact – while the commercial BankID (used by 8.7 million people, 99.7% penetration) constantly occupies the TOP 30 most popular apps in Sweden (alongside giants like WhatsApp), Sverige–ID does not yet appear in the listings. This is because the app has not yet been made available in stores. The challenge will be the moment it appears in the App Store alongside a perfectly functioning banking product. Success will be determined by whether citizens choose the state app voluntarily.

Finland relies on the Finnish Trust Network (FTN), which aggregates bank and mobile identifiers. Although this solution dominates the market, the upcoming EUDI reform is set to change the current balance of power.

The official digital wallet debuting at the end of 2026 will enable logging in and sharing attributes (e.g., age or driving licence) without bank intermediation.

This will allow the state to regain a direct relationship with the digital citizen, although the proven FTN system will remain the foundation of the new ecosystem.

Norway – despite the success of the banking BankID, Norway is intensively developing the MinID/AltID system managed by Digdir.

The government’s "Digital Norway 2030" strategy assumes that a state eID with the highest security level will become the standard for every citizen over 12 years old. Norway does not want to merely stick with banking solutions but aims for a full state guarantee of digital identity, which in 2026 is expected to start real competition for a place on Norwegians' phones alongside private systems.

The eID Elite and Market Giants

The analysis of data from March 2026 allows us to identify the top tier of states that have best prepared the ground for the upcoming EUDI Wallet standard.

To understand the full picture, we must juxtapose two viewpoints: efficiency in the rankings (Top Charts) and the absolute scale of operations (number of downloads).

TOP 10 – combination of reach and popularity

The table below is a "ranking of rankings" – a list of leaders who can maintain the highest positions in mobile stores while simultaneously building mass reach.

• United Kingdom and Italy (Market Momentum Leaders): 

These are the only countries that consistently held the #1 spot in both store ecosystems (Google and Apple) during the analyzed period. This dominance reflects intense current demand rather than total market saturation:

United Kingdom: While total eID adoption is still in the developing stage, the UK impresses with record 40% Velocity, showing a massive recent surge in user engagement.

Italy: Combines top store rankings with the highest reach among these "momentum leaders" (42%), successfully bridging the gap between early adopters and mass-market utility.

• Poland and Spain (Stable Elite): 

Poland (#3 in Google) and Spain (#3 in Google) prove that with a reach of 35–41%, a steady, high position in the Top Charts can be maintained without significant fluctuations. These are the most mature markets, where eID is a mass and everyday choice.

• Austria and France (Apple Favourites): 

These countries show the specificity of the "premium segment" – their apps are unrivalled in the App Store (#1 and #2), which, given their moderate reach (18–23%), indicates very high activity among iOS users.

Download Giants

If we set aside percentages and look at the hard numbers of new installations in just two months (January–February 2026), we see where the mass migration of citizens to the digital world is actually taking place.

• Turkey (2.57 million new downloads):

The absolute record holder in scale. Despite high market saturation, e–Devlet Kapısı still generates volumes unavailable to any other country in the region.

• Italy and UK (Million-scale Jumps):

Italy (2.1 million) and the UK (1.7 million) are the countries that caused the biggest market "tremors" in Q1 2026. This influx of users reflects the activation of high-demand services that now require eID for authentication.

• Germany (1.63 million new downloads):

The German AusweisApp Bund system, despite previous criticism for its growth rate, "unlocked" its potential in March 2026, recording over 1.6 million new installations.

This "unlocking" is the result of abandoning the sending of activation codes via traditional mail in favour of digital activation and the mandatory integration of the app with the social benefits system (BundID).

This is a signal that the EU's largest market has finally combined security with convenience of use.

Business benefits

In March 2026, we see a new norm: the customer expects verification with one click, without pulling a physical ID out of their wallet.

If your registration process still requires a scan of a document, for 40% of Italians or 35% of Poles, you are simply technologically obsolete.

For business, this change means real savings.

Instead of building complex verification systems, companies can "plug into" the trust that citizens have in their state apps. 

A new era of identity

Data from February 2026 shows that Europe has stopped theorising about digital identity and has simply started using it.

The success of mObywatel 2.0, the British GOV.UK One Login, or the Italian CIE ID is proof that the psychological barrier has been broken.

We are entering an era where identity becomes an invisible but essential layer of the internet.

Today's rankings are just a prelude to the moment when the EUDI Wallet integrates all these systems into a single standard.

The countries that are in the lead today are not just building user bases – they are teaching their societies a new digital freedom that will soon become the norm from Lisbon to Tallinn.

Follow our blog to stay up to date with the next stages of the eID Adoption Race analysis.