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Contents

• Main statistical findings

  • Internet use by individuals
  • Internet activities
  • Data sources and availability
  • Context
  • See also
  • Further Eurostat information
  • External links
  • Notes

Data from November 2013. Most recent data: Further Eurostat information, Main tables and Database. Planned article update: (dd) Month YYYY(, hh:00).

<Introduction: simple language, not too long, kind of executive summary>

Table 1: Internet use and frequency of use by individuals,2013 (% of individuals)
Source: Eurostat (educ_ilang)

Figure 1: Individuals who used the internet on average at least once a week, by age group and level of formal education, EU28, 2013(% of individuals)
Source: Eurostat (educ_ilang)

Figure 2: Individuals who have never used the internet, EU28, 2006-2013 (% of individuals)
Source: Eurostat (educ_ilang)

The internet has become important for daily life, education, work and participation in society. A large majority of us make use of it today. Apart from using e-mail accounts, most internet users search for information and news, consult wikis, participate in social networks and buy products online. In 2013, 41 % of the EU-28 population aged 16 to 74 years old has contacted or interacted with public authorities and services over the internet. Nevertheless there are significant differences in internet usage between countries and socio-economic groups. About one fifth of the EU-28 population have never used the internet.
This publication provides an overview of the latest results from the 2013 Survey on ICT (information and communication technology) usage in households and by individuals and takes a closer look at the activities carried out by internet users with a particular focus on interactions with public authorities and public services.

Internet use by individuals

In 2013, three thirds of individuals (75%) in the EU28 used the internet at least once in the last three months prior to the survey. Seven out of ten individuals (72%) in the EU28 had used the internet regularly (on average at least once a week), either at home, at work or at any other place (table 1). This indicator was included in the set of key performance targets of the Digital Agenda for Europe (DAE). The current level of use was just 3 percentage points below the DAE target of 75% of the population by 2015.

There were significant gaps in usage (‘digital divides’) when looking at age groups and level of formal education (figure 1). The percentage of regular internet users among younger persons aged 16-24 was 94%, more than twice as much as the share for the age group 55-74 years. The share is also more than twice as much for individuals with a high level of education (xx%) compared to those with a low level of education (xx%).

In the EU28, the proportion of individuals who never used the internet declined from 42% in 2006 to 21% in 2013 (figure 2). The decline in the proportion of non-users in the EU slowed down in the recent years, from 24% in 2011 to 22 % in 2012 and 21% in 2013, still 6 percentage points above the EU target of 15 % non-users set for 2015 in the Digital Agenda.

Large digital divides remain when looking at the share of the population who never used the internet in different countries (figure 3). The highest shares of the population with no past experiences in internet use at all whether at home, at work or at any other place were registered in Romania (42%), Bulgaria (41%) and Greece (36%), the lowest in Denmark and Sweden (4%), the Netherlands and Luxembourg (5%) and Finland (6%). Another four Member States (Italy, Cyprus, Portugal and Poland) showed proportions between 32% and 34%.

Internet activities

xxxx 

Data sources and availability

<description of data sources, survey and data availability (completeness, recency) and limitations>

Context

<context of data collection and statistical results: policy background, uses of data, …>

See also

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Further Eurostat information

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Methodology / Metadata

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Source data for tables, figures and maps (MS Excel)

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Other information

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External links

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Notes

[[Category:<Information society>|Internet use statistics – households and individuals]] [[Category:<Statistical article>|Internet use statistics – households and individuals]]