The European questionnaire on Information and Communication Technologies Data reveals that there exists a disparity between the internet usage of people with a low, medium, and high formal education level. This disparity although present in most countries, differs widely in its severity.
In 2020, 37 percent of users with low formal education in the
European Union (EU-27) used the internet to search for health information. In some countries like
Poland the share is even lower, amounting to only 16 percent. Among people with medium formal education the EU-27 average share is higher amounting to 57 percent. The highest share of users accessing such information can usually be found among users with a high degree of formal education. According to the survey 72 percent of users in the European Union with a high degree of formal education do search for health advice online. People living in countries like
Germany, the
Netherlands, and the
United Kingdom are even more likely to use the internet to search for health information.