Romania has moved above the European Union average for household internet connectivity, with 95.47% of homes having access in 2025. However, the country ranks last in the EU for the share of people with at least basic digital skills, according to Eurostat data analyzed by the Social Monitor, a Friedrich Ebert Foundation project.

The share of Romanian households with internet access increased by almost 10 percentage points from 86.24% in 2020. Romania now ranks 12th among the EU’s 27 member states and exceeds the bloc’s average of 94.76%.

The Netherlands recorded the highest household connectivity rate at 99.28%, followed by Luxembourg at 99%, and Malta at 97.77%. Croatia ranked last with 87.91%, behind Greece at 88.73%, and Lithuania at 89.35%.

Internet use among Romania’s general population also rose significantly, reaching 93.15% in 2025 compared with 78.46% in 2020, the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Ireland had the EU’s highest internet usage rate at 99.78%, followed by Denmark and the Netherlands, both at 99.71%. The lowest rates were recorded in Croatia at 85.9%, Bulgaria at 86.85%, and Greece at 89.15%.

“The data also show that the share of Romanians who have never used the internet fell sharply to just 4.91%, compared with 14.05% in 2020. However, Romania continues to perform below the EU average on this indicator,” reads the Social Monitor report.

The highest proportions of people who had never gone online were recorded in Croatia at 10.33%, Portugal at 9.56%, and Greece at 9.14%, while Ireland, the Netherlands, and Sweden had the lowest rates.

According to the same source, despite the improvement in access and usage, only 31.84% of Romania’s population has basic or above-basic digital skills, placing the country last in the EU and well below the bloc’s average of 60.4%.

Bulgaria followed with 38.26%, while Slovenia and Latvia recorded 46.5% and 48.43%, respectively. The Netherlands led the ranking at 83.61%, followed by Ireland at 82.82%, and Denmark at 81.45%.

Digital skills are assessed based on activities performed online or with software by people aged 16 to 74. The evaluation covers information and data literacy, communication and collaboration, digital content creation, safety, and problem-solving.

irina.marica@romania-insider.com

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