Internet usage in the Baltics - statistics & facts
Despite some differences, the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania share many goals. Having high-quality internet is one of them. Since independence from the Soviet Union and the dawn of the internet era in the 1990s, they achieved remarkable results in this area. For example, Latvia and Estonia have the highest internet penetration in the Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) region, respectively. On the other hand, Lithuania’s internet penetration was closer to the region's average. However, it has the largest population among the Baltic states and, therefore, the most internet users.
Among the Baltic states, Estonia also had the highest mobile connectivity index in 2021, which examines the enablers of mobile internet services adoption, beating the two southern states in three of the four assessed categories. Only Latvia ranked higher in consumer readiness but placed lower overall than the other two.
In 2021, Lithuania had the largest share of internet users who followed the news online, at 92 percent, with the second favorite activity being finding information about goods and services online. However, it was Estonia that had not only the largest share of people using the internet for researching goods and services but also for selling them. To balance the scales, Latvian internet users were more interested in political and civic participation than in the other two countries, with one-fourth of them using the internet for this purpose.
Internet speed and connectivity
Lithuania dominates in both the fixed-line broadband internet's median upload and download speed. It ranked well in both categories as one of only a few countries in the CEE region, with 86.84 Mbps and 88 Mbps as of May 2022, respectively. Regarding mobile internet, Estonia placed higher in download internet speed but remained behind Lithuania in upload internet speed. Here the differences were not as significant between the three countries.Among the Baltic states, Estonia also had the highest mobile connectivity index in 2021, which examines the enablers of mobile internet services adoption, beating the two southern states in three of the four assessed categories. Only Latvia ranked higher in consumer readiness but placed lower overall than the other two.
User behavior
Over three-fourths of all individuals in each of the Baltic countries connect to the internet daily. The highest share can be found in Estonia, where this figure tallied 85 percent in 2021. Internet banking penetration is also high in this region, particularly in Estonia and Latvia - a trend that can be found in Scandinavian and other northern countries to which the Baltics are in close proximity.In 2021, Lithuania had the largest share of internet users who followed the news online, at 92 percent, with the second favorite activity being finding information about goods and services online. However, it was Estonia that had not only the largest share of people using the internet for researching goods and services but also for selling them. To balance the scales, Latvian internet users were more interested in political and civic participation than in the other two countries, with one-fourth of them using the internet for this purpose.
