Online news making a comeback

Around nine out of ten (89%) people in the EU, aged between 16 and 74, use the internet for cultural activities; reading online news is one of the most popular pastimes.

Eurostat data for 2021 shows that 72% of EU internet users aged 16-74 read online news sites, newspapers or news magazines, a two percentage point (pp) increase compared with 2016.

In Cyprus, those reading news online was 89%, the sixth highest ratio in the 27-member bloc.

Among EU states, the highest percentages of internet users reading news online were registered in Finland (93%), Lithuania and Czechia (both 92%), Croatia and Greece (both 90%).

The lowest usage was reported in Romania (59%), Germany (62%), France (63%), Italy (64%) and Belgium (67%).

Compared with 2016, internet usage for reading online news increased more (+3 pp) among women than men (+2 pp), but in general, men were more likely to use the internet for reading news than women (74% vs 71%).

Reading online news sites/newspapers/news magazines was the most popular in the age range of 25-54 years (75%).

This age group and the 55-74 group (68%) registered increases of 3 pp and 2 pp, respectively.

The percentage of internet users increased the most in rural areas (65% in 2016 to 69% in 2021), followed by those living in cities (74% to 76%), but remained stable at 70% for those living in towns and suburbs.

People with high formal education (85%) were generally more likely to use the internet to browse new sites/newspapers/news magazines than those without such a level of education (57%).