Estonia Around EU Median in Terms of Digital Development
According to rankings published today, Estonia is in the middle of the pack in such digital development areas as online retail and access to broadband.
It is ahead of the curve in terms of mobile Internet users, but below average in broadband access, both in rural areas and overall (only 87 percent of the population compared to 97 percent in the EU overall). 4G Internet is used by 85 percent of Estonians but only 59 percent in the EU.
Seventy-seven percent of Estonians use the Internet at least once a week, while the figure is 72 percent in the EU.
Daily users: 63 percent in Estonia and 62 percent in the EU.
Sixteen percent in Estonia have never used the Internet. It's 20 percent in the EU as a whole.
More people shop online, but Estonia's figure of 23 percent is far below the EU average 47 percent.
The number of users of e-government services has dropped but is still above the EU average.
People who communicated with government departments via the Internet made up 48 percent in Estonia; 41 percent in the EU. People who file forms online account for 30 percent in Estonia but 20 percent in the EU. Nearly three-quarters of Estonian hospitals have high-speed broadband, but only one-third in the EU as s whole. Another feather in the cap: 75 percent of hospitals allow patients full or partial access to medical data - only 9 percent in the EU. Family doctors also share more with patients online in Estonia - 40 percent vs 7 percent in the EU.
The rankings, based on 2013 data, are here