24% of Europeans in the EU27 have never used the internet

A decreasing, but still significant, part of the EU population has never used the internet, according to the European Commission's Eurostat statistics arm. The share of individuals aged 16-74 in the EU27 who had never used the internet decreased from 42% in the first quarter of 2006 to 24% in the first quarter of 2011.

The target set for 2015 by the Digital Agenda for Europe is to reduce the share of individuals in the EU27 aged 16-74 who had never used the internet to 15%.

In 2011, the highest proportions of those having never used the internet were observed in Romania (54% of individuals aged 16-74), Bulgaria (46%), Greece (45%), Cyprus and Portugal (both 41%), and the lowest in Sweden (5%), Denmark and the Netherlands (both 7%), Luxembourg (8%) and Finland (9%).

Individuals aged 16-74 in EU27 who have never used the internet, 2011:
EU27 : 24%
- Belgium: 14%
- Bulgaria: 46%
- Czech Republic: 24%
- Denmark: 7%
- Germany: 16%
- Estonia: 20%
- Ireland: 21%
- Greece: 45%
- Spain: 29%
- France: 18%
- Italy: 39%
- Cyprus: 41%
- Latvia: 27%
- Lithuania: 33%
- Luxembourg: 8%
- Hungary: 28%
- Malta: 30%
- Netherlands: 7%
- Austria: 18%
- Poland: 33%
- Portugal: 41%
- Romania: 54%
- Slovenia : 29%
- Slovakia: 20%
- Finland: 9%
- Sweden: 5%
- UK: 11%
- Iceland: 4%
- Norway: 5%
- Croatia: 39%
- Turkey: 55%

(Eurostat, December 2011)