ESPAD average
Internet use, gaming and gambling (mean, %)
  Average Min. Max.
Days online (mean) a 5.8 3.8 6.8
Internet activities (%) b      
Social media 78 58 94
Information seeking/surfing 43 26 63
Streaming/downloading 48 28 80
Gaming 23 13 45
Money gambling 3 1 8
Buying/selling 9 3 19
Gambling (%) c      
At least once 14 5 30
Frequently d 7 3 16
a Number of days spent on the internet in the last 7 days.
b Percentage of students spending 4 or more days on the internet in the last 7 days.
c Percentage of students involved in gambling with money in the last 12 months.
d Percentage of students reporting gambling with money 2-4 times a month or more often.

Internet use

On average, the students reported use of the internet on 5.8 days within the last 7 days prior to the survey (Table 11a). The frequency of use was lower in Albania, Bulgaria, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Georgia, Montenegro, Romania and Ukraine (3.8-5.1 days). Students in Denmark (6.8 days), Iceland (6.7 days), Finland, the Netherlands, Sweden (6.6 days each) and Estonia (6.5 days) were online every day of the week. No gender differences were observed.

Internet activities

Overall, 78 % of the students had used the internet for social media activities regularly, i.e. on 4 or more days during the last 7 days (Tables 11a, 11b). Using social media was the predominant internet activity, and was reported by between 58 % (Albania) and 94 % (Finland) of the students. There were gender differences in the use of social media, with higher figures overall for girls than boys. In two thirds of the ESPAD countries, rates among girls were 10 or more percentage points higher than among boys. Exceptions were Albania (63 % for boys versus 54 % for girls) and Monaco (87 % versus 80 %), where more boys than girls reported social media use.

Slightly less than half of the students were regularly (at least four times for each of these activities in the last 7 days) using the internet for information seeking/surfing (43 % on average) or streaming/downloading (48 %). The highest figures for information seeking/surfing were found in Monaco (63 %), Finland (61 %) and Denmark (58 %), and for streaming/downloading in Norway (80 %), Finland (74 %) and Cyprus (67 %). Lower rates (30 % or less) of information seeking/surfing were reported in Montenegro and Portugal, and for streaming/downloading in the Czech Republic. With few exceptions, in nearly all countries, more girls than boys used the internet for information seeking/surfing or streaming/downloading. Nearly every 10th student (9 %) regularly used the internet for buying/selling, ranging from 3 % in Iceland and Liechtenstein to 19 % in Hungary and the Netherlands. On average, 11 % of the boys and 8 % of the girls reported these activities.

Online gaming and gambling

More than one in five students (23 %) used the internet for online gaming regularly (at least four times in the last 7 days) (Table 11b). Nearly half of the students from Denmark played regularly online (45 %). Regular online gaming was not so common in Georgia (13 %), the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Moldova (16 % each). Online gaming was much more common among boys (39 %) than girls (7 %). Among boys, the highest figures for the regular playing of online games were found in Denmark (64 %), Sweden (58 %), Estonia (55 %), Norway (52 %) and Finland (51 %), and the lowest in Georgia and Monaco (23 % each). The countries with the highest proportion of girls reporting regularly playing games online were Denmark (28 %) and Monaco (18 %).

Online money gambling was the least common of the internet activities (ESPAD average: 3 %), with the highest figures in Bulgaria (8 %), Albania, Cyprus and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (7 % each). Like online gaming, online gambling for money is predominantly done by boys (6 % compared with 1 % of girls). The highest rates of boys reporting online gambling for money were found in Albania, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (11-13 %).

Table 11a. Average number of days on the internet (mean number of days) and prevalence of internet activities on 4 or more days in the last 7 days (percentage)

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Country Days online Social media Information seeking, surfing Streaming/downloading music, films, etc. Days online Social media Information seeking, surfing Streaming/downloading music, films, etc.
Boys Girls Boys Girls Boys Girls Boys Girls
Albania 4,1 58 38 46 4,4 3,8 63 54 32 43 46 46
Austria 6,1 85 42 39 6,1 6,1 80 91 37 47 42 36
Belgium (Flanders) . . . . . . . . . . . .
Bulgaria 5,1 75 49 48 4,9 5,2 70 81 43 54 48 48
Croatia 5,8 83 46 38 5,7 6,0 77 89 43 49 41 33
Cyprus 6,2 77 36 67 5,9 6,4 66 86 34 39 59 75
Czech Republic 6,2 83 42 28 6,1 6,3 77 88 42 42 29 27
Denmark 6,8 85 58 50 6,8 6,9 81 89 53 62 53 48
Estonia 6,5 85 53 42 6,5 6,5 80 90 48 58 42 43
Faroes 6,1 89 31 32 6,3 6,0 85 94 32 31 31 33
Finland 6,6 94 61 74 6,5 6,7 92 96 58 64 69 79
FYR Macedonia a 4,0 66 40 38 4,1 3,9 65 68 39 41 40 36
France 6,2 79 40 35 6,2 6,3 74 85 40 39 36 34
Georgia 3,8 64 36 48 3,9 3,7 60 67 31 42 47 49
Greece 5,8 79 33 64 5,6 5,9 74 83 32 35 60 68
Hungary 6,1 80 35 43 6,1 6,2 74 87 33 37 41 45
Iceland 6,7 83 45 62 6,7 6,6 77 88 45 45 60 65
Ireland 6,3 82 37 43 6,3 6,4 76 88 34 41 41 45
Italy 5,7 80 44 40 5,6 5,9 74 88 41 47 36 44
Liechtenstein 6,4 89 40 38 6,3 6,5 85 93 41 40 39 37
Lithuania 5,7 71 38 52 5,6 5,8 60 82 34 42 49 56
Malta 6,1 85 36 48 5,9 6,3 79 90 34 39 43 53
Moldova 5,5 63 47 57 5,3 5,7 56 69 38 57 55 60
Monaco 6,5 84 63 37 6,4 6,6 87 80 61 65 36 39
Montenegro 4,9 65 30 35 4,8 4,9 59 72 25 35 32 39
Netherlands 6,6 92 34 65 6,5 6,7 87 96 30 38 62 68
Norway 5,9 88 56 80 5,8 6,0 84 94 54 58 75 86
Poland 5,9 78 54 58 5,8 6,0 73 82 52 56 57 58
Portugal 5,9 74 26 43 5,8 5,9 68 80 25 27 45 41
Romania 4,4 67 33 33 4,2 4,6 60 74 27 39 32 34
Slovakia 6,0 65 36 43 6,0 6,0 59 71 36 36 39 46
Slovenia 6,3 78 41 63 6,1 6,4 69 86 37 44 57 68
Sweden 6,6 85 53 36 6,5 6,7 79 91 48 59 36 36
Ukraine 4,9 75 50 45 4,7 5,1 68 82 44 55 41 48
AVERAGE 5,8 78 43 48 5,7 5,9 73 83 39 46 46 49
Latvia 5,3 78 50 66 5,3 5,4 5 2 2 1 2 3
Spain 5,9 . . . 5,8 6,0 . . . . . .
United States . . . . . . . . . . . .

a Official name former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.

Table 11b. Prevalence of internet activities on 4 or more days in the last 7 days by gender (percentage)

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Country Gaming Money gambling Buying/selling Gaming Money gambling Buying/selling
Boys Girls Boys Girls Boys Girls
Albania 19 7 10 28 11 11 3 13 8
Austria 21 1 7 37 5 2 0 8 5
Belgium (Flanders) . . . . . . . . .
Bulgaria 25 8 16 41 10 13 4 18 14
Croatia 23 6 9 39 6 11 2 11 6
Cyprus 25 7 13 42 9 12 3 16 10
Czech Republic 26 3 11 44 7 4 1 11 10
Denmark 45 5 8 64 28 9 1 8 8
Estonia 31 3 4 55 6 6 1 6 3
Faroes 26 1 6 50 3 2 0 4 8
Finland 27 2 5 51 5 3 0 7 3
FYR Macedonia a 16 7 14 26 6 11 3 17 10
France 23 1 6 41 6 1 0 7 6
Georgia 13 6 10 23 2 10 1 13 6
Greece 18 3 5 33 3 5 1 6 4
Hungary 21 3 19 35 8 5 1 22 15
Iceland 22 1 3 41 4 2 0 3 3
Ireland 18 3 10 32 3 5 0 12 8
Italy 22 3 9 33 10 5 1 11 8
Liechtenstein 20 1 3 41 2 1 0 6 1
Lithuania 30 5 11 46 13 9 1 13 9
Malta 24 1 13 41 8 2 0 12 13
Moldova 16 2 12 28 4 3 1 17 6
Monaco 20 2 8 23 18 3 2 10 7
Montenegro 18 5 9 31 6 8 2 11 7
Netherlands 27 4 19 48 6 7 2 22 16
Norway 30 2 14 52 5 4 1 16 12
Poland 22 3 10 39 6 5 1 11 8
Portugal 20 2 5 39 5 5 0 8 3
Romania 21 4 9 36 7 6 2 12 6
Slovakia 20 4 11 31 9 5 2 12 10
Slovenia 18 3 9 33 4 5 1 10 7
Sweden 32 5 10 58 7 7 2 13 7
Ukraine 17 2 6 30 5 3 1 7 4
AVERAGE 23 3 9 39 7 6 1 11 8
Latvia 27 8 13 2 0 2 1 7 7
Spain . . . . . . . . .
United States . . . . . . . . .

a Official name former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.

Gambling

On average, 14 % of the students reported gambling for money at least once and 7 % had gambled frequently (2-4 times a month or more often; Table 12) in the last 12 months. The highest rates of gambling in the past year (30 %) and frequent gambling (16 %) were found in Greece. About one in five students in Cyprus, Finland, Montenegro and Slovenia reported gambling in the past 12 months, and, in addition to Greece, more than every 10th student in Finland and Ireland gambled frequently. In all countries, considerably more boys than girls had gambled in the previous year (23 % versus 5 % on average) or gambled frequently (12 % versus 2 %). About one third or more of the boys in Croatia, Cyprus, Finland, Greece, Montenegro and Slovenia reported gambling with money in the last 12 months. At least 20 % of the boys reported having gambled frequently in Cyprus, Greece, Montenegro and Slovenia. In Greece, 12 % of the girls reported gambling experience in the previous 12 months and 3 % gambled frequently. Comparably high proportions for girls were also found in Slovenia (11 % gambling experience, 4 % frequent gambling).

Table 12. Gambling for money: prevalence in the last 12 months (percentage)

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  At least once Frequently At least once Frequently
Boys Girls Boys Girls
Albania 8 3 15 2 10 1
Austria 7 4 11 2 5 0
Belgium (Flanders) . . . . . .
Bulgaria 18 7 30 7 19 3
Croatia 19 8 33 4 20 2
Cyprus 23 9 39 8 26 3
Czech Republic 9 5 15 3 7 1
Denmark 16 8 29 4 16 0
Estonia 12 6 20 4 10 2
Faroes 11 7 20 2 8 0
Finland 20 13 34 7 14 1
FYR Macedonia a 14 6 23 5 14 2
France 17 9 27 8 15 2
Georgia 14 4 24 3 17 2
Greece 30 16 49 12 27 3
Hungary 16 6 26 6 17 3
Iceland 7 4 12 2 4 1
Ireland 16 11 26 6 9 1
Italy 15 6 24 5 15 2
Liechtenstein 9 4 17 2 9 1
Lithuania 12 6 20 3 11 1
Malta 7 4 12 3 5 1
Moldova 5 3 9 2 4 1
Monaco 14 7 23 6 12 2
Montenegro 23 8 38 8 26 3
Netherlands 14 9 23 5 9 1
Norway 7 4 11 3 6 1
Poland 10 5 17 4 9 3
Portugal 8 4 14 4 8 1
Romania 13 6 22 5 12 2
Slovakia 14 7 24 5 12 2
Slovenia 21 9 32 11 20 4
Sweden 13 5 22 5 14 2
Ukraine 7 4 12 3 6 1
AVERAGE 14 7 23 5 12 2
Latvia 16 8 23 9 12 4
Spain 16 6 29 9 14 2
United States . . . . . .

a Official name former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.