Europe's Digital Divide
Published: Friday, November 11, 2005 Online-Casinos.com
EUROPE'S DIGITAL DIVIDE
EU study released
Interesting new statistics are released in a new Internet study conducted for
the European Union, showing a digital divide among Europeans, with age, income
and education determining whether the continent's citizens use the Internet.
Eurostat, the EU's statistics agency, said its survey which gathered information
from across the 25-nation bloc revealed a digital divide, especially between the
young and those over 50 years old, many of whom have never or hardly use computers.
European governments have been trying to increase digital education and training
as part of efforts to boost the EU's sluggish economic growth prospects and increase
the bloc's competitive edge against the United States and new economic powers
from Asia.
"A gap remains between users and nonusers or between 'haves' and 'have-nots',"
Eurostat said.
The survey found that 85 percent of school or university students aged 16 to 24
used the Internet, while only 13 percent of people aged between 55 and 74 went
online during the survey. The poll was conducted between April and June 2004,
questioning 204,029 people.
Only 25 percent of those who had not completed high school used the Internet,
with the figure rising to 52 percent for those who attained a secondary school
diploma and to 77 percent for college or university graduates.
Only 40 percent of unemployed people used the Internet, compared to 60 percent
of those with a job, the survey revealed.
In total, average Internet use across the EU stood at 47 percent, lagging behind
the USA, where a similar survey found Internet use in the United States in 2003
stood at 55 percent.
Eurostat said the low Internet use had several causes, including "missing
infrastructure or access; missing incentives to use information and communications
technologies; lack of the computer literacy or skills necessary to take part in
the information society."
The survey found that computer use and use of the Internet was highest in the
Nordic countries of Denmark (76 percent), Finland (70 percent), and Sweden
(82 percent), while the lowest rates were found in Greece (20 percent).
