Despite Internet access is already widespread among the population of the European Union, its use in each Member State varies considerably. This is one of the findings shown by a survey put forward by the Statistical Office of the European Union, Eurostat, about the Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) usage in households and by
individuals
in Member States.

The survey about the use of ICTs made by European households and individuals carried out by the Statistical Office of the European Union, Eurostat, shows that over 75% of households in the 27 Member States had Internet access in 2012 and, whilst it is still one of the seven top digital priorities of the European Commission for the coming years, the number of households with broadband access has significantly increased over the last years. However, there are still important differences among Member States with shares of internet access of 90% and over in the Netherlands, Luxembourg or Denmark and Sweden, and some other just over 50% in countries such as Bulgaria, Greece and Romania.

The survey not only includes data about the level and quality of Internet access but also collects certain information about how citizens and households use the net, information which is used for monitoring different European policies and most particularly the implementation of the Digital Agenda for Europe. Sending and receiving emails or searching for information about products or services remain the most common activities when using the Internet, representing 89% and 83% respectively of the on-line activity. Some other activities such as reading newspapers or using on-line financial services are gaining ground representing an average 61% and 54% in each case in all Member States. On the contrary, activities such as creating websites or blogging still remain rare among European Internet users, as only 9% of Europeans have already performed these kind of on-line activities.

The most active Internet users in reading on-line news and newspapers were in Lithuania and Estonia with 92% a 91% respectively, while only nearly four out of ten French users did access on-line news. Finnish users were the most active in using the internet banking with 91% of internet users and also for online travel services with 69% of users. The largest share of internet users who posted messages to social media was registered in Portugal where three quarters of Internet users have posted messages in social media over the last three months, as opposed to the Czech Republic, France and Germany which had the lowest. Internet users in the Netherlands and Hungary are the most active in creating webs and blogs with shares of 17% and 16% respectively, which almost double the European average.