UK adults most like in EU to buy online

UK adults are the most likely in EU to buy online, according to new figures released by the Office of National Statistics.

According to the report, in 2009, a higher percentage of UK adults bought or ordered goods and services over the Internet in the previous 12 months than in any other EU country. Two-thirds (66%) of those aged 16-74 had bought goods or services online in the UK, compared with 56% in Germany, 45% in France and an EU-27 average of just 37%.

The proportion of people reading a national daily newspaper has been declining over the past three decades. National Readership Survey figures show that in the 12 months to June 2009, less than half (42%) of all people aged 15 and over in Great Britain read a national daily newspaper, compared with 72% of people in the 12 months to June 1978. In 2009, The Sun was the most commonly read newspaper with a readership of 16%.