What do people do online?

What do people do when they are online?

We can know the answer about european people reading this news release from Eurostat

Internet access and e-skills in the EU27 in 2007

More than 40% of households have broadband internet access

More than one individual in two use internet search engines

In the EU27, 54% of households(1) had access to the internet during the first quarter of 2007, compared with 49% during the first quarter of 2006, and 42% had a broadband connection, compared with 30% in 2006.

This data(2) comes from Eurostat, the Statistical Office of the European Communities. This release presents only a small part of the results of a survey from 2007 on Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) usage in households and by individuals in the EU27 Member States, Norway and Iceland. As well as internet use and broadband connections the survey also covers e-shopping, e-government and e-skills.

Household internet access ranged from 19% in Bulgaria to 83% in the Netherlands

In 2007, the highest proportions of households with internet access were recorded in the Netherlands (83%), Sweden (79%) and Denmark (78%). The lowest levels were registered in Bulgaria (19%), Romania (22%) and Greece (25%).

The proportion of households with a broadband connection in 2007 was also highest in the Netherlands (74%), Denmark (70%) and Sweden (67%).

A quarter of individuals chat online, 15% make phone calls over the internet

In the first quarter of 2007 individuals in the EU Member states were asked which internet related activities they had already carried out in order to measure their e-skills. In the EU27, 57% of individuals had used internet search engines. Half of them had sent e-mails with attachments, while 30% said they kept viruses and spyware off their computers. Slightly more than one quarter had downloaded and installed software from the internet. Around one
quarter of individuals had taken part in chatrooms, newsgroups or online discussions, and 15% had used the internet to make phone calls. Peer to peer file sharing for exchange of movies and music had been used by 13%. One tenth had created a web page.

The Member States most often reporting high proportions of individuals performing these different internet activities were Denmark, Estonia, Luxembourg and the Netherlands.
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(1) The survey covered households containing at least one person aged 16-74, and individuals aged 16-74. The reference period was the first quarter of 2007. Households were asked about internet access by any member of the household at home. Individuals were asked about internet related activities they had ever carried out, at home or at any other location, in order to measure their skills.

(2) Eurostat, Data in Focus 23/2007 "Internet usage in 2007 Households and individuals". The publication can be downloaded for free in PDF format from the Eurostat website. The full set of data can be found on the Eurostat website and in the dedicated section: Science and Technology / Information society / Data.