Mapped: Europe’s Social Media Gap by Country

Mapped: Europe’s Social Media Gap by Country

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Social media use across Europe varies sharply by country, creating a clear gap between the continent’s most and least connected populations.

This map shows the share of adults active on social networking sites across Europe, based on 2025 data from Eurostat and Ofcom. Being “active” in this case involves creating a profile, posting messages, sharing, commenting, or otherwise contributing to a social networking site.

While adoption exceeds 80% in several northern countries, it drops to 56% in Italy and 59% in Germany, two of Europe’s largest economies. Overall, the European average sits at 74%, masking these wide differences in usage.

Northern Europe’s Social Media Craze

Northern Europe stands out as the region with the highest social media adoption rates.

Denmark leads the continent in social media use (90%), followed closely by Norway (89%). Sweden and the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania trail slightly behind in the 70–79% range.

This data table shows social media usage rates across European countries.

Rank	Country	Social Media Use (% of Adults)
1	Denmark	90
2	UK	89
3	Norway	89
4	Cyprus	87
5	Montenegro	84
6	Malta	82
7	Finland	81
8	Netherlands	81
9	Turkey	80
10	Ireland	80
11	Romania	80
12	Latvia	79
13	Hungary	79
14	North Macedonia	78
15	Serbia	76
16	Sweden	75
17	Switzerland	74
18	Greece	73
19	Estonia	73
20	Bulgaria	71
21	France	71
22	Portugal	71
23	Lithuania	70
24	Czechia	70
25	Spain	70
26	Austria	68
27	Belgium	68
28	Luxembourg	67
29	Slovenia	65
30	Poland	63
31	Slovakia	62
32	Croatia	62
33	Germany	59
34	Italy	56

Northern Europe’s high usage reflects early and widespread adoption of digital technologies.

Estonia, for example, has earned the moniker “e-Estonia” due to its tech-savvy society and government, while companies ranging from Finland’s Nokia to Sweden’s Spotify rank among Europe’s leading digital success stories.

Even with this reputation, some Scandinavian governments are considering social media bans for children. Denmark, as the continental leader in online activity, is weighing a ban on children’s creation of social media profiles before age 15, or 13–14 with parental consent.

Social Media in Western Europe

Western Europe has long included some of the continent’s most globalized countries. In 2005, university students in the United Kingdom were the first outside North America to join Facebook. Today, 89% of UK adults are active on social media.

However, beyond the UK, social media activity is more limited than in the Nordics. France counts 71% of its adult population on social networking sites, just ahead of Spain and Portugal (both 70%).

For their part, the Benelux countries show an interesting contrast: 81% of Dutch adults use social media, compared to 67–68% in Belgium and Luxembourg.

Italians: The Least Online Europeans

Italy has the lowest social media usage rate in Europe, with just 56% of adults active on social networks. This represents a gap of more than 30 percentage points compared to countries like Denmark, Norway, or the UK.

The contrast also appears generational, as over three-quarters of Italian teens self-report being addicted to their phones.

Germany (59%) is the only country near Italy’s low rate of social media usage. German society appears more divided on the benefits and drawbacks of social networking sites, with nearly half of surveyed Germans in 2025 saying they would rather live in a world without social media.

Learn More on the Voronoi App

To learn more about this topic, check out the What are Gen Z’s Favorite Social Media Platforms? on Voronoi.

• Source: https://www.visualcapitalist.com/europe-social-media-gap-by-country/