Abstract
Against the background of the integration of technological revolution and industrial transformation, the digital economy has become a core driving force for high-quality development, but it faces problems of ambiguous definition and inconsistent measurement systems. This paper first sorts out the definitions of the digital economy by international organizations and academic circles, then defines its connotation and summarizes its four main characteristics. Subsequently, it constructs a measurement system based on two criteria (internet progress and digital finance) with four sub- components, and uses the entropy method to calculate the digital economy level of 258 prefecture-level cities in China from 2011 to 2022. The results show an obvious unbalanced development: Eastern China has the highest level, followed by Central China, and Western China is the weakest. Finally, targeted suggestions are put forward for the three regions to promote the coordinated development of the