In 2023, 95% of households in urban areas of the European Union had internet access, compared to 93% in suburban areas and 91% in rural areas.
A decade earlier, the share of EU households with internet access was 9.7 percentage points higher in cities than in rural areas. Over the past ten years, this gap has steadily narrowed, reaching 4.4 points in 2023.
According to Eurostat data, last year 89% of people in the EU aged 16 to 74 living in cities used smartphones or mobile phones to access the internet. This was the case for 86% of those in suburban areas and 82% in rural areas.
Laptops were more frequently used to access the internet in cities (60%) compared to suburban areas (52%) and rural areas (49%).
A similar trend was observed with tablets, used by 33% of people in cities, compared to 31% in suburban areas and 25% in rural areas.
These differences are also evident when examining engagement in online activities. In 2023, 83% of people aged 16-74 living in cities used the internet for sending and receiving emails, compared to 78% in suburban areas and 72% in rural areas.
City dwellers were also more likely to use the internet for reading online news (70% in cities versus 59% in rural areas) and for banking (69% in cities versus 58% in rural areas).