Romania’s youth digital skills rank near bottom of EU, Eurostat shows

Romania’s young people are among the least digitally skilled in the European Union, according to new Eurostat data. Only 53.3% of Romanians aged 16 to 24 possess at least basic digital skills, the second lowest level in the bloc, ahead of only Bulgaria at 52.8%.

This places Romania far below the EU average of 74.6%, and even further from top performers like Denmark (92.1%), the Czech Republic (91.7%), and Malta (91.5%). The data underscores a persistent digital literacy challenge for the country’s younger generation.

Gender differences are also striking. While across the EU, young women outperform young men (75.9% vs 73.3%), Romania is one of just five member states where the opposite is true. Here, 55.1% of boys have basic skills compared to 51.1% of girls, a 4-percentage-point gap. Only Malta has a wider male advantage, at 4.6 points.

The findings raise concerns about Romania’s ability to compete in a digitalizing economy and suggest the need for targeted educational interventions, particularly for girls.

Article and image source: romania-insider.com