Half of European Union Population Uses the Web Regularly

Nearly half of the population in European Union countries use the Internet at least once a week, according to data released by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Communities.

In EU countries, forty-seven percent of individuals use the Internet regularly, which is classified as at least once a week from home, work, or another location. More men (51 percent) than women (43 percent) use the Internet on a regular basis. Age also influences Internet usage habits. Seventy-three percent of individuals aged 16 to 24 use the Internet regularly; 54 percent of adults aged 25 to 54 use it regularly; and 20 percent of adults 55 to 74 use it regularly.

European Internet Usage by Individuals, Q1 2006 (%)
	Use the Internet at Least Once a Week
	Total	Men	Women	16-24 Years Old	25-54 Years Old	55-74 Years Old
EU25	47	51	43	73	54	20
Belgium	58	62	54	82	67	27
Czech Republic	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Denmark	78	80	76	94	86	56
Germany	59	65	54	83	69	30
Estonia	56	57	56	90	64	U
Greece	23	27	18	47	27	4
Spain	39	44	35	70	45	10
France	39	42	37	71	47	U
Ireland	44	45	42	59	48	17
Italy	31	36	26	55	37	9
Cyprus	29	32	27	55	31	7
Latvia	46	47	45	86	50	12
Lithuania	38	38	37	77	39	7
Luxembourg	65	76	55	89	71	37
Hungary	42	43	40	74	47	14
Malta	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Netherlands	76	82	71	96	86	46
Austria	55	61	49	80	63	24
Poland	34	36	32	71	35	7
Portugal	31	35	28	68	34	6
Slovenia	47	51	42	81	54	12
Slovakia	43	47	39	72	47	9
Finland	71	72	70	94	82	38
Sweden	80	84	76	94	89	56
United Kingdom	57	63	51	72	66	33
Iceland	84	86	82	96	90	59
Norway	77	80	73	97	84	48
Notes: 1. EU25 excludes member states for which data is not available. 2. Individuals used the Internet at least once a week. 3. N/A – Data is not available. 4. U – Data is not reliable.

Within EU25 member states, 52 percent of households had access to the Internet in Q1 2006, compared to 48 percent in Q1 2005. In that period, 32 percent had a broadband connection, up from 23 percent the previous year.

The countries with the highest household penetration of Internet use are the Netherlands (80 percent); Denmark (79 percent); Sweden (77 percent); and Luxembourg (70 percent). The lowest Internet use penetration exists in Greece (23 percent); Slovakia (27 percent); Hungary (32 percent); Lithuania (35 percent); and Portugal (35 percent).

Household broadband penetration is highest in the Netherlands (66 percent); Denmark (63 percent); Finland (53 percent); and Sweden (51 percent). The lowest adoption rates of broadband in the home occur in Greece (4 percent); Slovakia (11 percent); Cyprus (12 percent); and Ireland (13).

Business uptake of Internet access and broadband was also counted in the survey. In Q1 of this year, 94 percent of EU enterprises with 10 or more employees had Internet access, up from 91 percent in early 2005.

Member countries with the highest degree of Internet access were Finland (99 percent); Denmark (98 percent); Austria (98 percent); and the Netherlands (97 percent). All other countries except Latvia (80 percent); Cyprus (86 percent); Lithuania (88 percent); and Poland (89 percent) had at least a 90 percent rate of Internet adoption.

Enterprise broadband adoption is highest in Sweden (89 percent); Finland (89 percent); Spain (87 percent); and France (86 percent). Broadband access is lowest among enterprise businesses in Poland (46 percent); Cyprus (55 percent); Lithuania (57 percent); and Latvia (59 percent).

European Internet Access by Households and Enterprises, Q1 2006 (%)
	Proportion With Internet Access		Proportion With Broadband Connection
	Households	Enterprises	Households	Enterprises
EU25	52	94	32	75
Belgium	54	95	48	84
Czech Republic	N/A	95	N/A	69
Denmark	79	98	63	83
Germany	67	95	34	73
Estonia	46	N/A	37	N/A
Greece	23	N/A	4	N/A
Spain	39	93	29	87
France	41	94	30	86
Ireland	50	94	13	61
Italy	40	93	16	70
Cyprus	37	86	12	55
Latvia	42	80	23	59
Lithuania	35	88	19	57
Luxembourg	70	93	44	76
Hungary	32	N/A	22	N/A
Malta	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Netherlands	80	97	66	82
Austria	52	98	33	69
Poland	36	89	22	46
Portugal	35	N/A	24	N/A
Slovenia	54	96	34	75
Slovakia	27	93	11	61
Finland	65	99	53	89
Sweden	77	96	51	89
United Kingdom	63	92	44	77
Iceland	83	99	72	95
Norway	69	94	57	86
Notes: 1. EU25 excludes member states for which data is not available. 2. The reference period for enterprises is January. 3. N/A – Data is not available.
Source: Eurostat, 2006

The data are from a survey conducted in households with at least one person aged 16 to 74 during Q1 2006. Households were asked about Internet access by any member of the household at home and Internet use at the home and other locations. The enterprise data are part of a survey conducted with businesses employing at least 10 people in January 2006. Activities covered manufacturing, construction, distributive trades, hotels and accommodation, transport and communication, real estate, renting and business activities, motion picture and video activities, and radio and television activities.