Internet Usage in The EU15 and EU25
7 April 2006 - A European Union report showed big differences
in the level of Internet use among EU nations, with Benelux and
Nordic countries leading the way and eastern and southeastern
Europe generally lagging behind.
In the Netherlands, 78% of households are connected to the
Internet, compared to just 16% in Lithuania, according to the
report from the Eurostat statistics agency, based on data
gathered in early 2005. The Dutch also lead the way in domestic
broadband access, with 54% of homes linked up compared to 1% in
Greece, 4% in Cyprus and 5% in the Czech Republic.
In Greece, 73% of the population say they have never used the
Internet, the survey said, well above the EU average of 43%. More
than half the citizens of the Czech Republic, Italy, Latvia,
Lithuania, Hungary, Poland and Portugal have never logged on to
the Net.
Among students, 93% across the EU have used the Internet.
Overall, the survey showed a rise in Internet connections since
2004. Domestic connections in the EU rose from 43% to 48%. The
number of homes connected to broadband rose from 15% to 23%.
For EU businesses, Internet access rose from 89% to 91%, while
broadband connections increased from 53% to 63%. At least 90% of
businesses are linked to the Internet in all nations included in
the survey, except Latvia, Hungary, Cyprus, Lithuania and Poland.
In Sweden, Denmark and Finland over 80% of firms have broadband
access, compared with less than 45% in Cyprus, Poland and
Greece.
Download Report Summary (pdf)
