Half of all EU citizens have little or absolutely no computer skills, according to a recent annual report from the EU Commission on internet development within the European Union. Indeed, levels of familiarity with technology have scarcely tracked upwards in recent years. A third of respondents in the latest annual survey said they had never used the internet or never used a computer at all, while 16 per cent had only "low" skills in both.
The populations with the most adept computer users are in Denmark, Finland and Luxembourg. Romania scored lowest. Nonetheless, the number of internet users is on the rise. Seventy per cent of respondents said they used some online service at least once a week in 2011.
EU Digital Agenda Commissioner Neelie Kroes hopes to push forward with the spread of internet connections. The "biggest problem" is that there still hasn't been enough investment in high-speed internet networks, she says. About half the EU population has access to a broadband internet connection.