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Wednesday, 7 May 2014 - 11:48
Dutch internet skills second in EU
Internet literacy among Dutch people between 16 and 75 years of age rose between 2010 and 2013. Especially seniors 65 and up have improved their online skill sets. Inside the European Union, Dutch internet skills is above average, according to the Central Bureau for Statistics (CBS)
In order to understand the level of internet skill that most Dutch people have, search engines such as Google were used. Around 92 percent of 16-75-year olds were able to use search engines in 2013. A majority, 84 percent, can send emails with attachments.
Calling via the internet, with Skype for example, has risen in the last years from 31 to 46 percent. File sharing over the internet has also risen from 25 to 31 percent.
The strongest group showing rising internet skills was the 65-75 group. In 2010, 57 percent of 65-and overs were able to use the internet. In 2013, this rose to 75 percent. This group predominantly uses the internet for search engines, sending emails with attachments and calling via the internet.
In the Netherlands, Dutch people between 16 and 75 years old had good internet skills in 2013, average internet skills were spread across 44 percent of the population, and 36 percent had little skill . In the EU, this is 12, 35 and 30 percent respectively.
Along with Denmark, Sweden and Finland, only 10 percent of the population have no internet skills. In Romania, Italy and Portugal, this is above 30 percent.