Nearly half of all individuals in the European Union used the internet at least once a week in 2006, according to new research from Eurostat, the Statistical Office of the European Communities.
Eurostat says that 52% of households had access to the internet during the first quarter of 2006, compared to 48% during the first quarter of 2005, and 32% had a broadband connection, compared to 23% in 2005.
In Q1 2006, 47% of individuals in the EU used the internet at least once a week, whether at home or at any other location.
Household internet access ranged from 23% in Greece to 80% in the Netherlands in Q1, with Denmark (79%), Sweden (77%) and Luxembourg (70%) also recording high proportions of internet access.
Alongside Greece at the bottom end of the scale were Slovakia (27%), Hungary (32%), Lithuania and Portugal (both on 35%).
With regard to broadband connections, the Netherlands again came top, with 66%, whilst Denmark (63%), Finland (53%) and Sweden (51%) also had a high proportion of household broadband connections.
Meanwhile, Leichtman Research Group published a report which revealed that the twenty largest cable and telephone providers in the US acquired over 2.5 million net additional broadband subscribers in the third quarter of 2006 (see Over 2.5 Million Broadband Subscribers Added In US).
Eurostat adds that in Q1 2006, the highest proportions of individuals regularly using the internet were recorded in Sweden (80%), Denmark (78%), the Netherlands (76%) and Finland (71%), and the lowest in Greece (23%), Cyprus (29%), Italy and Portugal (both 31%).
In addition, whilst nearly three quarters of individuals in the EU aged 16 to 24 (73%), and more than half of those aged 25 to 54 (54%), used the internet regularly, only a fifth of those aged 55 to 74 (20%) did so.
| Internet access by households and enterprises, 2006** (%) |
| |
Proportion with internet access |
Proportion with Broadband Connection |
| Households |
Enterprises |
Households |
Enterprises |
| EU25 |
52 |
94 |
32 |
75 |
| Belgium |
52 |
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 |
96 |
24 |
n/a |
| Slovenia |
54 |
93 |
34 |
75 |
| Slovakia |
27 |
99 |
11 |
61 |
| Finland |
65 |
96 |
53 |
89 |
| Sweden |
77 |
96 |
51 |
89 |
| United Kingdom |
63 |
92 |
44 |
77 |
| Iceland |
83 |
99 |
72 |
95 |
| Norway |
69 |
94 |
57 |
86 |
Source: Eurostat
Recent research from Nielsen//NetRatings said that the UK’s biggest spenders on online content are 16-24 year olds, averaging £5.34 per month (7pound;64 per year) (see Teens Are Biggest Online Content Spenders).
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