More than a third of Europe's population have no basic computer skills, according to data published by the Statistical Office of European Communities.

Eurostat found that 37 per cent of people aged between 16 and 74 had no basic computer skills and were unable to complete tasks such as using a mouse to copy a file or folder.

Those countries that scored the lowest in terms of IT literacy included Greece, Italy, Hungary, Cyprus, Portugal and Lithuania. The top performers included Denmark, Sweden, Luxembourg, Germany and the UK.

Generally speaking, older people performed less well than young people, with Eurostat finding that education played "an important role in improving e-skills, with levels of non e-literacy falling as education levels rise".

Among students, only a small percentage had no or low computer skills, while more than eight in ten registered either medium or high computer literacy. Fascinating. ®

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