| Netherlands | 27 | 52 |
|---|---|---|
| Finland | 31 | 48 |
| Ireland | 31 | 40 |
| Denmark | 31 | 37 |
| Sweden | 31 | 36 |
| Luxembourg | 32 | 32 |
| Spain | 26 | 38 |
| Austria | 30 | 33 |
| Croatia | 32 | 31 |
| France | 32 | 31 |
| Malta | 26 | 35 |
| Czech Republic | 36 | 24 |
| Estonia | 29 | 28 |
| Portugal | 27 | 29 |
| Slovakia | 34 | 21 |
| Belgium | 28 | 26 |
| EU-27 | 27 | 26 |
| Greece | 31 | 22 |
| Latvia | 27 | 24 |
| Slovenia | 30 | 20 |
| Cyprus | 29 | 21 |
| Hungary | 28 | 22 |
| Germany | 30 | 19 |
| Lithuania | 26 | 23 |
| Italy | 23 | 23 |
| Poland | 22 | 21 |
| Bulgaria | 23 | 8 |
| Romania | 19 | 9 |
| Source: CBS, Eurostat | ||
Digital skills are determined by the number of activities in five areas: information and digital skills, online communication, computers and online services, privacy protection and software use. A person has basic digital skills if he / she does at least one activity in information and communication and one or two in the other areas.
A person has more than basic digital skills if two or more activities are performed in the field of information and communication and three or more in the other areas.
The Netherlands and Finland lead with at least basic skills
The Netherlands, together with Finland, has the largest share of inhabitants with at least basic skills, almost 80 percent. With this, the Netherlands has almost reached the European goal of digitalisation by 2030: In that year, 80 percent of the EU population must have at least basic digital skills. At 52 percent, our country is even a frontrunner with more than basic skills (Finland; 48 percent).
Bulgaria and Romania have the lowest proportion of inhabitants with at least basic skills at 31 and 28 per cent respectively. Poland and Italy also score lower on this point than the EU average (43 and 46 percent).
Most communication skills
In online communication, the proportion of Dutch people with more than basic skills in 2021 was greater (93 percent) than in other areas. This includes email, internet calls, use of social networks, and expressions online about social or political issues.
Also in the areas of information and digital skills (such as searching for information online, reading news, recognizing fake news) and computers and online services (eg shopping online, installing apps and following an online course), 89 percent and 83 percent of Dutch had skills that rise above the basic level, respectively.
The EU average was 68 percent for information and digital skills and 53 percent for computers and online services.
| Online announcement |
93 | 77 |
|---|---|---|
| Information and digital skill |
89 | 68 |
| computers and online services |
83 | 53 |
| Privacy protection |
72 | 44 |
| Software use |
65 | 45 |
| Source: CBS, Eurostat | ||
Dutch less skilled with software use
Privacy and software use are somewhat more difficult areas for many Dutch and Europeans. In the field of privacy, 72 percent of Dutch people had more than basic skills; 65 percent in software use. The EU average was 44 and 45 percent, respectively.
The software use area includes the use of word processors and spreadsheets. This also includes writing computer programs in a programming language.
Large differences between age groups
What people can do with the internet and computers varies greatly depending on age and education. For example, the percentage of Dutch people with more than basic skills among 25- to 45-year-olds is more than twice as high as among 65- to 75-year-olds. Of the 25-45-year-olds, 64 percent had more than basic skills. This proportion was 28 percent among 65- to 75-year-olds.
Of the highly educated, 70 percent had digital skills above the basic level. This proportion is more than twice as high as among the low-skilled (31 percent). Half of the people with a youth education had more than basic skills. The differences in digital skills between men and women are smaller. The proportion of men with more than basic skills was 56 percent versus 47 percent among women.
| Age | |
|---|---|
| 16 to 25 years | 58 |
| 25 to 35 years | 64 |
| 35 to 45 years | 63 |
| 45 to 55 years | 55 |
| 55 to 65 years | 43 |
| 65 to 75 years | 28 |
| Educational results | |
| High | 70 |
| secondary | 50 |
| Low | 31 |
| Sex | |
| Men | 56 |
| Women | 47 |
| Source: CBS, Eurostat | |