International ICT
UK Internet access above EU average
Internet access and broadband connections: by households and enterprises, 2006
In 2006, 52 per cent of households in the EU-25 had Internet access at home. The UK was above the EU average, at 63 per cent, while the Netherlands had the highest proportion in the EU (80 per cent), followed by Denmark (79 per cent). Elsewhere in Europe, Iceland had a higher proportion of homes with Internet access, at 83 per cent. Greece had the lowest rate in the EU, at 23 per cent.
The ten member states that joined the EU in 2004 generally had the lowest levels of Internet access at home. Among these states, Slovenia had the highest proportion which, at 54 per cent, was slightly above the EU average and Slovakia had the lowest rate, at 27 per cent.
More and more households are connecting to broadband. In 2006, 32 per cent of households in the EU-25 had a broadband connection. At 44 per cent, the UK was 12 percentage points above the EU average. The Netherlands had the highest proportion among EU countries, at 66 per cent, and Greece had the lowest rate, at 4 per cent. Again, elsewhere in Europe, Iceland had a higher proportion, at 72 per cent.
Finland and Sweden had the highest proportion of enterprises equipped with broadband in the EU-25, both at 89 per cent in 2006. Broadband was least widespread in Poland, at 46 per cent. In the UK, broadband connection growth was particularly strong between 2003 and 2006. The proportion of UK enterprises with a broadband connection increased by more than two-and-a-half times, from 29 per cent to 77 per cent, to rank ninth in the EU-25.
e-Commerce has also increased among business enterprises across the EU. In 2006, the UK had the second highest proportion of enterprises receiving orders over the Internet or non-Internet information and communication technology (ICT) in the EU, at 30 per cent. Denmark had the highest proportion, at 34 per cent, which was well above the EU-25 average of 14 per cent.
With regard to sales over the Internet as a proportion of total turnover, the UK had one of the highest percentages in Europe. However, this was dwarfed by Ireland, which had sales accounting for almost 10 per cent of turnover.
Source: Eurostat
Notes:
Eurostat data for the UK are not compiled on the same basis as data published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), and are therefore not directly comparable with UK data published in other chapters of Focus on the Digital Age.
Data on enterprises relate to enterprises with ten or more full-time employees.
EU-25 refers to the newly enlarged European Union as of 1 May 2004, when the number of member states increased to 25.
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