Statistics in Focus. Internet use in households and by individuals in 2011.

Abstract

The internet has become important for daily life, education, work and participation in society. A large majority of households and individuals make use of it today. Nevertheless there are significant differences in access and usage between countries and socio-economic groups. About a quarter of the EU-27 population aged 16 to 74 years old have never used the internet. Among those who used it, most internet users have searched for information and news, consulted wikis, participated in social networks and bought products online. This issue of Statistics in Focusprovides an overview of the latest results from the Survey on ICT (information and communication technology) usage in householdsand by individuals and takes a closer look at the activities done by internet users. More than half of the individuals (56%) in the EU used the internet everyday or almost every day (figure 1). Two out of three individuals used the internet at least once a week (68%). The shares for individuals who used the internet regularly were above 80% in six Member States: Denmark, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Finland, Sweden and the United Kingdom. The shares were below 60% in seven Member States: Bulgaria, Greece, Italy, Cyprus, Poland, Portugal and Romania.