Contents
- Digital literacy among adults statistics: EU skill levels and country differences
- Digital literacy among adults statistics by age and sex
- Digital literacy among adults statistics by education and work status
- Digital literacy among adults: Northern Ireland skill levels and gaps
- Digital literacy among adults: online activities and safety
- Digital literacy among adults: Philippines ICT skill areas
- Sources
Digital literacy among adults statistics: EU skill levels and country differences
In 2025, 60% of EU citizens aged 16–74 had at least basic digital skills. The measure offers a broad benchmark for the population, but it does not mean that 60% had advanced expertise in every digital task. Eurostat’s Digital Skills Indicator (DSI) uses performed activities as proxies for skills across five areas. At least 1 activity in each area is required to meet the threshold for at least basic overall skills. Read in that context, the headline captures coverage across the indicator’s areas rather than mastery of every technology or task. Eurostat, “Skills for the digital age”
The recent EU series recorded 54% in 2021, 56% in 2023 and 60% in 2025 for citizens aged 16–74 with at least basic digital skills. These are figures from the indicator as reported for those years. Eurostat notes that the indicator was revised in 2021, which limits comparability with earlier iterations; the values before and after that revision should not be treated as an uninterrupted historical series. Eurostat, “Skills for the digital age”
| EU country, 2025 | People aged 16–74 with at least basic digital skills |
|---|---|
| Netherlands | 84% |
| Ireland | 83% |
| Denmark | 81% |
| Finland | 81% |
| Bulgaria | 38% |
| Romania | 32% |
The country figures show a wide spread in the same measure and year. The Netherlands had the highest reported share, at 84%. Ireland recorded 83%, while Denmark and Finland each recorded 81%. At the lower end, Bulgaria had 38% and Romania had 32%, the lowest share reported. These selected values illustrate the range; they do not provide a complete country ranking. Each is a national share for people aged 16–74 with at least basic skills in 2025. Eurostat, “Skills for the digital age”
A national percentage is a useful signpost, but it does not describe how skills are distributed within a country or explain why the figures differ. The indicator records whether people performed activities in specified skill areas. It therefore connects digital skills to demonstrated use, while leaving room for differences in particular tasks that the overall threshold does not show. Eurostat, “Skills for the digital age”
Digital literacy among adults statistics by age and sex
Age differences are pronounced in the EU figures. In 2025, 33% of people aged 65–74 had at least basic digital skills, compared with 60% across all EU citizens aged 16–74. The older group’s measure uses the same threshold, but the age range differs. This comparison points to a gap in the share meeting the indicator, not to a description of every older person’s abilities. Eurostat, “Skills for the digital age”
The sex breakdown also varies by age. Among all EU men aged 16–74, 62% had at least basic skills in 2025, compared with 59% of women. In the 16–24 age group, the reported shares were 76% for women and 73% for men. For people aged 25–34, the figures were 75% for women and 74% for men. The pattern reverses in the 65–74 group: 38% of men and 29% of women met the threshold. Eurostat, “Skills for the digital age” Eurostat, “Towards Digital Decade targets for Europe”
| EU age group or population | Women with at least basic skills, 2025 | Men with at least basic skills, 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Ages 16–24 | 76% | 73% |
| Ages 25–34 | 75% | 74% |
| Ages 65–74 | 29% | 38% |
| Ages 16–74 | 59% | 62% |
These figures do not support a single sex difference applying to every age group. Women’s reported share was higher in the two younger groups listed, while men’s share was higher in the oldest group and across the overall 16–74 population. The percentages refer to different population slices, so the age-specific comparisons should be read within their own rows. Eurostat, “Skills for the digital age” Eurostat, “Towards Digital Decade targets for Europe”
Digital literacy among adults statistics by education and work status
Education is strongly differentiated in Eurostat’s 2025 figures for people aged 16–74. At least basic skills were reported for 82% of people with high formal education and 38% of those with no or low formal education. The same 82% figure appears in the overall skills breakdown for people with higher education: 30% had basic overall skills and 50% had above-basic overall skills. In that breakdown, the two skill levels are presented separately, so the overall 82% should not be confused with either component alone. Eurostat, “Skills for the digital age” Eurostat, “Towards Digital Decade targets for Europe”
Across the EU population aged 16–74 in 2025, 31% had basic overall digital skills and 29% had above-basic overall skills. Those are distinct categories of the overall skill-level breakdown. The evidence reports the two shares separately, so they are best kept as separate indicators rather than folded into a new estimate. Eurostat, “Towards Digital Decade targets for Europe”
Labour-market status is associated with another clear set of differences in the reported shares. In 2025, 80% of EU students had at least basic skills. Among working people—employees, self-employed people and family workers—the share was 69%. It was 54% among unemployed people, and 37% among retired or not-active people, excluding students. These categories describe the populations as classified in the source; they do not establish that work or study status causes a particular skills level. Eurostat, “Towards Digital Decade targets for Europe”
| EU population or skill level, 2025 | Reported share |
|---|---|
| People with high formal education: at least basic skills | 82% |
| People with no or low formal education: at least basic skills | 38% |
| Students: at least basic skills | 80% |
| Employees, self-employed people and family workers: at least basic skills | 69% |
| Unemployed people: at least basic skills | 54% |
| Retired or not-active people, excluding students: at least basic skills | 37% |
| People aged 16–74: basic overall skills | 31% |
| People aged 16–74: above-basic overall skills | 29% |
The education and work-status percentages share a year and broad EU context, but their group definitions are different. The table keeps those denominators explicit. A person’s educational attainment and work status are not interchangeable measures, and the figures do not identify the reasons behind the observed differences. Eurostat, “Skills for the digital age” Eurostat, “Towards Digital Decade targets for Europe”
Digital literacy among adults: Northern Ireland skill levels and gaps
Northern Ireland’s Continuous Household Survey covered April 2024–March 2025 and reported digital skills among people aged 16 and over. In that period, 47.2% had basic digital skills, 36.7% had above-basic skills and 16.2% had no digital skills. These are the survey’s three reported categories and their stated population base. NISRA, “Digital Skills in Northern Ireland”
| Northern Ireland, people aged 16 and over | April 2024–March 2025 |
|---|---|
| Basic digital skills | 47.2% |
| Above-basic digital skills | 36.7% |
| No digital skills | 16.2% |
The reported age gap is visible in the share with no digital skills: 41% of respondents aged 65 and over reported none, compared with 10% of those aged 16–49. The source describes the older group as 4 times as likely to report no skills. Economically inactive people also had a high reported no-skills share, at 32%, compared with 6.2% among economically active people. NISRA, “Digital Skills in Northern Ireland”
Area deprivation is another dimension reported by NISRA. In the least deprived areas, 49% of people had above-basic skills, compared with 29% in the most deprived areas. This describes a difference between area groups in the survey; it does not show that deprivation alone accounts for the skills pattern. NISRA notes that estimates are subject to sampling variability, so small differences should be interpreted with that limitation in mind. NISRA, “Digital Skills in Northern Ireland”
Digital literacy among adults: online activities and safety
Digital competence can also be viewed through online functions people report using. In Northern Ireland, the survey asked about functions used in the 12 months before the survey period. Among people aged 16 and over, 74.3% sent or received emails online and 60.8% participated in social networks. These activity measures are not the same as the DSI skill-level categories: using a function indicates reported activity, while the EU indicator requires activities across five skill areas. NISRA, “Digital Skills in Northern Ireland” Eurostat, “Skills for the digital age”
| Online activity in the prior 12 months, Northern Ireland people aged 16 and over | Share, 2024/25 |
|---|---|
| Sending or receiving emails | 74.3% |
| Participating in social networks | 60.8% |
| Online purchases | 73.9% |
| Internet banking | 71.4% |
| Selling online | 25.4% |
| Finding information on non-public goods or services | 51.4% |
| Reading newspapers or news websites online | 49.7% |
| Seeking health-related information online | 45.8% |
| Using online learning resources | 40.2% |
Online purchases were reported by 73.9% and internet banking by 71.4% of people aged 16 and over. Selling online was reported by 25.4%. The table’s information-seeking activities ranged from finding information about non-public goods or services (51.4%) to seeking health-related information (45.8%). Reading newspapers or news websites online was reported by 49.7%, and 40.2% used online learning resources. Each percentage refers to the survey’s preceding 12-month period, not to a single day or week. NISRA, “Digital Skills in Northern Ireland”
The functions span communication, commerce, information and learning. Their differences show that online use is not uniform across purposes. The available figures do not measure how confidently, frequently or safely people performed each activity, and the online-function percentages should not be treated as a substitute for an overall skills classification. NISRA, “Digital Skills in Northern Ireland”
Digital literacy among adults: Philippines ICT skill areas
The Philippine Statistics Authority’s 2024 results use a different population and reference period. Among people aged 15–64, 57.91 million—or 78.2% of that population—used the internet in the 3 months preceding the survey. Another 16.17 million, or 21.8%, did not use it. The denominator for those internet-use proportions is the full population aged 15–64, unlike the skill-area percentages below, which describe internet users who performed ICT activities in July–September 2024. Philippine Statistics Authority, “SDG 4.4.1: Proportion of Youth and Adults with ICT Skills, by Type of Skills”
Among internet users aged 15–64, the most widely reported skill area in the checked results was communication and collaboration, at 92.3%. Information and data literacy was 85.1%, problem-solving skills were 72.6%, and safety skills were 64.8%. Digital-content-creation skills were 52.8%, the lowest of the listed areas. These percentages describe the share of internet users exhibiting each type of ICT skill through activities, not shares of the entire population aged 15–64. Philippine Statistics Authority, “SDG 4.4.1: Proportion of Youth and Adults with ICT Skills, by Type of Skills”
| ICT skill area among Philippine internet users aged 15–64 | Share, 2024 |
|---|---|
| Communication and collaboration | 92.3% |
| Information and data literacy | 85.1% |
| Problem-solving | 72.6% |
| Safety | 64.8% |
| Digital content creation | 52.8% |
The source also reports above-basic skills within selected areas: 80.1% for communication and collaboration, 72.2% for information and data literacy, and 54.3% for safety. These are within-area above-basic skill measures, so they should be distinguished from the broader proportions demonstrating any skill in those areas. Philippine Statistics Authority, “SDG 4.4.1: Proportion of Youth and Adults with ICT Skills, by Type of Skills”
The EU, Northern Ireland and Philippine statistics describe different age ranges, populations and constructs. Eurostat reports an overall indicator tied to activities across five areas; NISRA reports skill categories and recent online functions for people aged 16 and over; the Philippine figures separate internet use from ICT skill areas among internet users aged 15–64. Keeping those denominators and definitions visible makes the comparisons useful without treating the percentages as directly interchangeable. Eurostat, “Skills for the digital age” NISRA, “Digital Skills in Northern Ireland” Philippine Statistics Authority, “SDG 4.4.1: Proportion of Youth and Adults with ICT Skills, by Type of Skills”