Bulgaria and Romania rank at the bottom of the European Union in terms of basic digital skills, according to Eurostat’s Digitalisation in Europe report for 2026 published on April 23.

Around 40% of all EU citizens lacked at least basic digital skills in 2025, despite 93% using the internet at least once a week, the data showed.

The figures underscore the scale of the challenge facing the European Commission, which has set a target for at least 80% of EU residents to have basic digital skills by 2030.

Across the bloc, the share of people with basic or above basic digital skills was highest in the Netherlands (84%), Ireland (83%) and Denmark and Finland (both 81%).

By contrast, Bulgaria and Romania lagged significantly behind, with just 38.3% and 31.8% of people respectively possessing basic or above basic digital skills.

The gap is also reflected in business digitalisation. Only 38% of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Bulgaria and 44% in Romania had a basic level of digital intensity, compared with 94% in Finland and 92% in Denmark.

Adoption of artificial intelligence technologies remains limited in parts of Eastern and Southern Europe. Use of AI was highest in Denmark at 42%, followed by Finland (38%) and Sweden and Belgium (both 35%). It was lowest in Romania (5%), Poland (8%) and Bulgaria, alongside Greece and Cyprus (all 9%).

Despite weaker overall digital skills, Romania and Bulgaria recorded relatively high shares of women working in information and communication technology (ICT), at 28% and 25% respectively, among the highest in the EU.