Internet use climbs in EU

A European Union report shows more and more Europeans are using the Internet for telephoning – 15 percent, according to the agency Eurostat. The proportion of the population getting online access has soared. According to Internet World Statistics, in the year 2000 fewer than one in five Europeans had used the Internet.

According to Eurostat, the average now is more than half of them! There are wide variations, however. A year ago the EU average (in some countries more, in others less) was 49 percent. This has climbed to 54 percent. The Netherlands has the highest rate of Internet use: 83 percent of the population. Bulgaria has the lowest: 19 percent.

Survey respondents reported activities such as using a search engine, sending emails, taking part in online discussions, sharing movies and music and creating web pages.

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