Cyprus is one of the EU countries with the highest percentage of users using the Internet to access online news sites, newspapers and news magazines, according to data published by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union.
In 2021, 89% of all people aged 16-74 in the EU said they had used the internet at least once in the three months preceding the survey date. According to the same data, 72% of these European Internet users aged 16 to 74 said they had read online news sites, newspapers or news magazines during this period.
Some other indicative uses of the Internet that were among the options offered to respondents in the survey were sending and receiving emails, phone or video calls, social media use, education, accessing a wiki, watching TV or listening to the radio, playing or downloading games, and streaming or downloading videos.
The percentage of Internet users in Cyprus who read news online in 2021 was 89%.
This percentage marked an increase of 16 percentage points (pp) compared to 2016 when the share was 73%.
At EU level, the percentage of internet users reading news online increased by 2 pp over the same period.
Among EU Member States, the highest percentages of internet users reading news online were recorded in Finland (93%), Lithuania and Czechia (each 92%) as well as Croatia and Greece (each 90%).
The lowest use was reported in Romania (59%), Germany (62%), France (63%), Italy (64%) and Belgium (67%).
Compared to 2016, Internet use to read online news increased more (3pp increase) among women than among men (+2pp increase) in 2021, but in general, men were more likely to use the Internet to read news than women (74% vs. 71%).
In Cyprus, this percentage was 89% for men (compared to 76% in 2016) and 88% for women (compared to 70% in 2016).
In terms of age, reading “news sites/newspapers/online news magazines” was most popular in the 25-54 age bracket (75%). This age group and the 55-74 age group (68%) recorded increases of 3 pp and 2 pp, respectively. The 16-24 age group remains unchanged at 68% compared to 2016.
In Cyprus, internet use to read online news was most popular in the 25-54 age group (91%, a 15pp increase from 2016), followed by the 25-54 age group 16-24 year olds (89%, an increase of 16 pp) and the 55-74 age group (82%, an increase of 5 pp).
The percentage of Internet users using it for information 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 in 70% for those living in cities and suburbs.
In Cyprus, the highest increase was recorded among people living in cities (from 75% to 95%), followed by those living in rural areas (from 71% to 83%) and towns and suburbs (from 72%). % to 80%).
People with high formal education (85%) were generally more likely to use the Internet to “read new online news sites/newspapers/magazines” than those without such education ( 57%).
In Cyprus, 96% of people with a high formal education were also more likely to use the internet to read online news than those with little or no formal education (78%).