EU report reveals Cyprus has highest share of online clothes shoppers and social media users

Cyprus has the highest share of online clothes shoppers and social media users in the EU, according to the 2025 edition of Eurostat’s interactive publication Digitalisation in Europe - though its enterprise lags behind when it comes to AI adoption.

Overall, the report found that 13% of EU businesses used artificial intelligence technologies, while 72% of internet users used online banking services, compared with 56% in 2014. Cyprus fared quite well in most categories, hovering around or above the EU average. But it has under-performed in other areas, notably when it comes to Cypriot-based businesses adopting Artificial Intelligence (AI).

Where does Cyprus score high?

Cyprus performed particularly well in the category “Internet activities”, where it topped the list of “People participating in social networks” with 91.8% of its population, ahead of Norway (91.4%) and Denmark (90.2%). It also topped the list of “People making online phone or video calls” with 97.2%, as opposed to second Malta (89.9%) and third and The Netherlands (87.0%).

The island also ranked 2nd under “People using instant messaging” with 97.3% of its population, behind The Netherlands (98.3%) but ahead of Norway (92.6%).

Over 85% of Cypriot internet users do their banking online

Looking at internet banking, 85.1% of the Cypriot population did their banking online in 2024, with the EU average standing at 72% in comparison to 56% in 2014.

Online banking is mostly popular among people aged 25 to 64 years (76%), compared with 66% of those aged 16 to 24 and 59% of the 65- to 74-year-olds. Among EU countries, internet banking is most used in Denmark (98%), Finland and the Netherlands (both 97%), and Latvia (91%).

Online shopping

Looking at the purchase of clothes, shoes and accessories, Cyprus recorded the highest share of online shoppers who ordered clothes (85%), ahead of Bulgaria and Romania (both 79%). In contrast, the smallest proportions were found among online shoppers in Latvia and Estonia (both 58%), and Czechia (60%).

In 2024, among people who had purchased online in the previous 3 months, 70% bought clothes, shoes or accessories.

Cyprus had the third lowest rate of online shoppers encountering problems

In 2023, among people who had purchased online in the previous three months, 33% encountered problems when shopping online via a website or app. In the EU countries, the largest shares of online shoppers who experienced problems were recorded in Luxembourg (56%), the Netherlands (55%), and Spain (50%). In contrast, Portugal had the lowest proportion of online shoppers facing problems when buying online (4%), followed by Latvia (14%) and Cyprus (15%).

E-commerce by age group

In 2024, e-commerce was most popular among people aged 16 to 24 years (83%), compared with those aged 25-64 (79%). Meanwhile, more than half (53%) of 65- to 74-year-olds also shopped online in 2024.

In Cyprus, 82.2% of its population aged 16-24 years’ old shop online, dropping to 72.0% in the 25-64 age group and further to 24.7% for those aged 65-74 years.

E-government: Cyprus had third highest use of public authority websites

In 2024, 47% of EU people who used the internet in the previous 12 months used it to obtain information from public authorities' websites, for example about services, benefits, entitlements, laws, and opening hours. In 15 EU countries, over 50% of people used such websites to get information, with Denmark (79%), Finland and Cyprus (both 75%) at the top of the group.

Cyprus scores above EU average in businesses that buy cloud services

In 2023, 45% of businesses in the EU bought cloud computing services. Large businesses are more likely to opt for cloud solutions compared with SMEs. In 2023, 78% of large businesses bought cloud services, while SMEs bought 44%.

Cyprus scored above the EU average at 52.9%.

Businesses using ICT security measures, 2024

Cyprus also fared quite well in the category "Businesses using ICT security measures in 2024". The most common measures used were:

• strong password authentication (84% of EU businesses – 95.0% in Cyprus, behind Finland with 95.2% and ahead of Malta with 90.5%)
• data backup to a separate location or cloud (EU average: 79%, Cyprus ranks third after Denmark and Austria with 90.0%)
• network access control (65% of EU businesses, 73.9% in Cyprus).

Internet of Things: Almost 78% of Cyprus’ population uses internet-connected home entertainment

When it comes to the ‘Internet of Things’ (IoT), 67% of internet users across the EU use internet-connected home entertainment – Cyprus ranked quite high up with 77.9% of its population. However, just 13.2% of its residents use internet-connected energy management solutions, and 27.4% use smart watches and other wearable IoT.

Other areas where Cyprus underperformed include “People who recycle ICT devices no longer in use” (10.0% for desktop computers, 7.6% for laptops and tablets, and 8.3% for mobile phones)

Businesses online: 59.1% of businesses meet online, 79.9% use social media

In the EU, nearly all businesses (95%) have broadband internet access. This applies regardless of the size of the enterprise, as 95% of small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) and 99% of large businesses were using broadband in 2024.

In Cyprus, 59.1% of businesses hold online meetings (58.4% of SMEs and 95.3% of large businesses), while in terms of social media use, 79.9% of total businesses use it, that is, 79.6% of SMEs and 95.0% of large businesses.

In 2024, 23.8% of EU businesses reported that they had conducted e-sales in the previous year, compared with 17% in 2014. Cyprus ranged around the EU average at 23.6%.

Where can Cyprus do better?

Over 13% of EU businesses use AI technologies; just 7.9% in Cyprus

In 2024, more than 13% of businesses in the EU used AI, an increase compared with 8% in 2023. As with cloud computing, its use was more common in large businesses (41%) than in SMEs (13%).

The most used AI technology was performing analysis of written language (7% of EU businesses), followed by generating written or spoken language (5%) and converting spoken language into machine-readable format (5%).

Cyprus is lagging way behind in this area, with just 7.9% of its businesses using AI.

ICT specialists make up 5% of people employed in Cyprus, same as EU average

In 2024, more than 10 million people in the EU worked as ICT specialists, representing 5% of total employment. Cyprus scored the same as the EU average.

Among the EU countries, the share of employed ICT specialists was the highest in Sweden (9%), Luxembourg and Finland (both 8%). The smallest shares were observed in Greece and Romania (both 3%).

1 in 5 EU businesses train their staff to develop ICT skills – 29.9% in Cyprus

In 2024, 22% of EU businesses provided training to their staff to develop or enhance their ICT skills. Finland (38%), Belgium (37%), Denmark (35%) are the front runners in the EU, with the highest shares of enterprises providing ICT training to their staff.

In Cyprus, 29.9% of businesses provided ICT training.

Access Digitalisation in Europe – 2025 edition here