Internet access and use in 2010 80% of young internet users in the EU27 active on social media Share of households with broadband connections has doubled since 2006

STAT/10/193

14 December 2010

Internet access and use in 2010
80% of young internet users in the EU27 active on social media
Share of households with broadband connections has doubled since 2006

In the EU27, 70% of households1 had access to the internet in the first quarter of 2010, compared with 49% in the first quarter of 2006. The share of households with broadband internet connections doubled, to reach 61% in 2010 compared with 30% in 2006.

These data2 published by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union, represent only a small part of the results of a survey on Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) usage in households and by individuals in the EU27 Member States, Norway, Croatia and Turkey. As well as internet use and broadband connections, the survey also covers other indicators such as e-shopping, e-government, e-security and advanced communication and content related services.

Proportion of internet access around 20 percentage points higher in households with children

The level of internet access increased in all Member States between 2006 and 2010, most notably in Romania where it tripled, and in Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Greece, Hungary and Slovakia, where it doubled or almost doubled. In 2010, the highest shares of internet access were recorded in the Netherlands (91%), Luxembourg (90%), Sweden (88%) and Denmark (86%), and the lowest in Bulgaria (33%), Romania (42%) and Greece (46%).

The proportion of households with a broadband connection also rose in every Member State in 2010 compared with 2006. Sweden (83%) registered the highest share of broadband connections in 2010, followed by Denmark (80%), Finland (76%) and Germany (75%), while Romania (23%), Bulgaria (26%) and Greece (41%) had the lowest.

In 2010, the level of internet access for households with children in the EU27 was significantly higher than for households without children (84% compared with 65%). This was the case in all Member States. The shares for households with children ranged from 50% in Romania to 99% in the Netherlands and Finland. In twelve Member States the share was 90% or more for households with children.

One in five older internet users make internet phone calls

In the EU27, around 90% of all internet users sent e-mails during the first quarter of 2010, without any significant difference between age groups.

On the other hand, there was a very significant difference in the use of internet for posting messages to chat sites, blogs and social networks by age. Four fifths of internet users aged 16-24 in the EU27 used the internet for this purpose during 2010, compared with two fifths of those aged 25-54 and less than one fifth of those aged 55-74. Use of this form of communication was particularly high for all age groups in Poland, Portugal and Lithuania.

There was a less pronounced difference between age groups in the use of internet phone and video calls, with one third of those aged 16-24, one quarter of those aged 25-54 and one fifth of those aged 55-74 in the EU27 using this form of communication during 2010. Use of the internet for phone and video calls was particularly high for all age groups in Bulgaria, Latvia, Lithuania and Slovakia.

Households with internet access, broadband connections and access by type of household (%)

: Data not available

u Unreliable data

Use of internet for communication, 2010 (% of internet users)

u Unreliable data

• The survey covered households with at least one person aged 16-74, and individuals aged 16-74. The main reference period was the first quarter of 2010. Households were asked about internet access by any member of the household at home. Individuals were asked about frequency of internet use and about activities they had carried out on the internet in the last three months prior to the survey for private purposes, or in the last twelve months for e-government and e-commerce activities, at home or at any other location. The 2010 survey also included questions on internet security for individuals who used the internet in the last twelve months prior to the survey.

• Eurostat, Data in Focus 50/2010 "Internet usage in 2010 - Households and individuals", available free of charge in pdf format on the Eurostat web site. The full set of data can be found in the dedicated section: http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/ict under "Data".

Eurostat news releases on the internet: http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat