Luxembourg saw one of the sharpest rises in the EU of people doing online courses or using online learning Copyright (c) 2019 fizkes/Shutterstock.

Luxembourg saw one of the sharpest rises in the EU of people doing online courses or using online learning Copyright (c) 2019 fizkes/Shutterstock.

In 2021, 27% of people aged 16 to 74 in the EU reported that they did an online course or used online learning material in the last three months prior to the survey, a 4 percentage increase compared with 23 percent in 2020. Luxembourg meanwhile reached 43% -- compared to 29% in 2020.

In 2021, among all EU Member States, Ireland had the highest share (46%) of people aged 16 to 74 doing an online course or using online learning material. Finland and Sweden both registered a share of 45%.

Luxembourg saw one of the sharpest rises in the EU , compared to pre- covid crisis, with a 19% rise. Only Romania saw a decline for this period (4%).

As might be expected, it is the 16-24 age group that has taken to this trend at a higher rate than any other age bracket. Almost 50% of young EU citizens said they had used online learning material, compared with 27% in the next age bracket (25-34 year-olds).

Luxembourg mirrored this trend exactly for the youngest age bracket, while claiming 37% of all 25–34 in this online educational shift, up 14% on the previous year.

With a steady decline through the age groups, the 65 to 74 year olds Europeans registered at only 11%, a 1 percentage point rise. Luxembourgers in the same age bracket, hit 17%, more than double from the previous year.

The data in this article is based on the annual survey on the use of ICT in households and by individuals. The results above refer to individuals’ experiences during the first three months of 2021.