According to the relevant survey conducted by ELSTAT, the following results emerge:
During the first quarter of 2025, 89.2% of the population aged 16–74 used the Internet, marking an increase of 2.9 percentage points compared to 2024 and 22.4 percentage points compared to 2015. Among those who used the Internet in the first quarter of 2025, 97.8% accessed it daily or almost daily. Furthermore, 95.0% of Internet users aged 16–74 utilized their mobile phones, while 55.8% used a laptop.
Regarding the purposes of Internet use, the most common activities included making voice or video calls over the Internet (e.g., Skype, Messenger, Viber, Facetime, WhatsApp, Snapchat, Zoom, MS Teams, Webex) and reading online news via websites, newspapers, or magazines (92.8% and 89.6%, respectively). These percentages pertain to nine out of ten individuals aged 16–74 who used the Internet in the first quarter of 2025.
The activities showing the largest year-on-year increases (comparing Q1 2024 with Q1 2025) were conducting banking transactions online (including mobile banking) (+7.9 percentage points), making voice or video calls over the Internet (+7.1 percentage points), sending or receiving emails (+5.9 percentage points), and messaging through applications such as Skype, Messenger, Viber, WhatsApp, or Snapchat (+4.8 percentage points).
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is increasingly influencing everyday life and the use of digital services, as it develops systems capable of performing tasks that typically require human intelligence, such as learning, analysis, and decision-making. Approximately 49.5% of individuals aged 16–74 reported using AI tools (e.g., ChatGPT, Copilot, Gemini, LLaMA, Midjourney, DALL-E) to create content, such as text, images, code, or video.
Among AI tool users, 92.8% used them for personal purposes, 36.5% for professional purposes, and 25.4% for formal educational purposes (e.g., school or university). Among the 50.5% of the population aged 16–74 who did not use AI tools, 70.5% stated that they did not need them, 9.2% were unaware of their existence, and 12.9% did not know how to use them.
Regarding online learning, 30.1% of Internet users in Q1 2025 engaged in online learning activities (e.g., attending webinars or courses, using online educational material, or interacting with instructors or other learners through audiovisual platforms such as Webex, Zoom, MS Teams, Google Classroom, Google Meet, the Panhellenic School Network – e-class, e-me platform, or Digital Citizens Academy) for educational, professional, or personal reasons (compared to 26.2% in 2024). Among these individuals, 81.8% attended an online course or seminar, 57.2% used online educational material, and 52.9% interacted with instructors or fellow learners through audiovisual tools.
Concerning electronic transactions with public authorities, key findings are as follows:
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Approximately 72% of the population aged 16–74 used e-government services for personal purposes during April 2024–March 2025 (compared to 66.3% during April 2023–March 2024).
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About 66.9% received official documents via a personal account through a public service website or application (e.g., tax documents, criminal record copies, birth/death certificates, vaccination certificates, test results, prescription notices, or examination results).
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Approximately 50.4% made appointments with public authorities online for personal purposes (e.g., KEP, EFKA, DYPA, AADE, NHS doctors).
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17% filed their tax returns online, up from 16.8% in 2024.
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59.1% submitted electronic applications for official documents, benefits, or complaints/objections.
Regarding electronic identification, 77.9% of individuals aged 16–74 performed high- or basic-level verification online for personal purposes, including 92.4% for public services, 27.9% for services provided by other European countries, and 71.1% for private services such as online banking.
Online purchasing behaviors in Q1 2025 show that 69.2% of Internet users bought or ordered goods or services for personal use, an increase of 6.4 percentage points compared to the previous year and more than double compared to 2014. Purchases included tickets for cultural or sports events (61.8%), transport services (53.6%), accommodation (40.9%), digital books or audiobooks (14.9%), games (14.5%), and software (12.1%). Subscriptions to streaming services (57%), music streaming (16.5%), online games (7.3%), health apps (2.1%), and online news (1.5%) were also reported.
Regarding issues encountered during online purchases, 87.5% reported no problems, while others experienced delays (51%), damaged or incorrect products (26.1%), or poor customer support (20%).
In terms of misinformation, 36.3% of Internet users considered information on social media or news websites to be false or questionable, and of those, 30.2% verified its accuracy. Among these, 87.4% checked sources online, 24.2% participated in online discussions, and 37.9% sought offline verification.
For online privacy and data protection, 26.1% read privacy policies, 51.7% restricted access to location data, 36.8% limited access to their social media profiles, 52.2% refused use of personal data for advertising, 27.5% verified website security, 4.9% updated or deleted personal data via websites or search engines, 43.2% modified browser settings to limit cookies, 31.1% were concerned about tracking for targeted advertising, and 16.2% used software to reduce online tracking.
Regarding online accounts, 79.8% of individuals have ever created an account or registered for a free online service, 12.7% attempted to delete such accounts in Q1 2025, and 20.6% encountered difficulties when doing so.
Finally, among Internet users in Q1 2025, 75.6% did not experience any problems online. Of those who did, 85.5% sought assistance from others, and 32.6% attempted to resolve issues themselves.
Among individuals who had not used the Internet during Q1 2025 but had used it previously, 71.2% reported that they did not need it, while 38.7% found its use too difficult.
