DIGITAL ECONOMY: FEATURES AND TRENDS.

Currently, under the influence of digital technologies, there is a rapid transformation of economic relations and forms of interaction of economic agents, innovative goods and services form new segments of the world economy related to information and communication technologies. These sectors are gradually becoming the drivers of the economic development of the global economic system, although at present their direct contribution to the economy is rather modest in both developed and developing countries. The processes of digital transformation of the economy are also closely related to the development of the information society infrastructure. That is why the efforts of many countries and international organizations are currently focused on such aspects of the development of information and communication technologies as: the global information environment and the stable interaction of its elements, the creation of international technical documentation, standards and regulations in the field of digital technologies, free Internet access, Information security and copyright, e-commerce, e-government, accountability of government bodies. An important factor in the effective implementation of the information society development policy globally and maintaining the stability of the competitive advantages of each country is the regular quantitative assessment in the field of digital technologies. All of the foregoing predetermines the relevance of this study, which is based on an analysis of current trends in determining strategic directions for the future development of the digital transformation of society, identifying barriers to ongoing transformations, quantifying the state and development of processes and phenomena in the information and communication sphere using official statistics, and Including for cross-country comparisons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]