Cyprus emerged as one of the EU’s most active countries for online cultural engagement in 2024, with 94 per cent of internet users watching TV or videos online.
This placed the island just behind the Netherlands and Finland, which topped the list at 96 per cent each, according to Eurostat revealed this week.
By contrast, Romania reported the lowest share at 44 per cent, followed by Bulgaria (55 per cent) and Slovakia (63 per cent).
The island also ranked among the EU’s top performers for reading news online, as 89 per cent of Cypriot internet users accessed news sites, newspapers or magazines.
Czechia recorded the highest share at 91 per cent, narrowly ahead of Finland (90 per cent), while Romania again sat at the bottom of the table with just 50 per cent.
France (56 per cent) and Italy (62 per cent) also reported relatively low levels of online news readership.
Across the bloc, watching TV or videos online was the most common cultural activity, reported by 79 per cent of users.
Listening to or downloading music followed at 65 per cent, with Sweden and Denmark leading in this category at 91 per cent and 88 per cent respectively.
Meanwhile, gaming proved less popular, with only 34 per cent of EU internet users playing or downloading games. Here, Malta and Ireland recorded some of the highest shares, at 55 per cent and 50 per cent, while Italy and Greece reported among the lowest at 22 per cent and 24 per cent respectively.
Purchases of cultural goods and services online were also significant. Around 36 per cent of EU internet users bought such items in 2024.
Subscriptions dominated, with 30 per cent paying for films, series and sports streaming services, and 21 per cent subscribing to music platforms.
Sweden (50 per cent) and the Netherlands (48 per cent) were the most active in video subscriptions, while Greece (15 per cent) and Bulgaria (18 per cent) reported the lowest shares.
One-quarter of EU users purchased tickets to events, with the highest levels seen in Ireland (42 per cent) and Denmark (39 per cent).
In Cyprus, 28 per cent of users reported buying event tickets online, slightly above the EU average.
Printed books, magazines and newspapers remained more popular across the bloc (16 per cent) than e-books and audiobooks (7 per cent).
Finland led the way for e-book and audiobook purchases at 15 per cent, more than double the EU average, while Cyprus reported 6 per cent.
Finally, 11 per cent of EU users paid to download software, 10 per cent bought games, and 6 per cent purchased physical copies of audiovisual content such as music, films or series.
