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The Growing AI Gap in Europe: Who’s Using It and Who Isn’t

Artificial intelligence is expanding rapidly across Europe, but its uptake is far from uniform. A widening gap is emerging between countries where AI tools are already widely integrated into daily life and those where usage remains comparatively limited.

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This chart, created by Visual Capitalist for AI Week and sponsored by Terzo, draws on data from Eurostat and IAB UK to show the percentage of people in each European country who have used AI within the past three months.

AI Adoption Across Europe

Since consumer AI tools became widely available in late 2022, Europe has begun to form clear adoption clusters. Northern European nations consistently lead the rankings, while several of the continent’s largest economies sit much lower in the list.

The figures below show the proportion of residents reporting recent AI use:

  1. 🇳🇴 Norway - 56.3%
  2. 🇩🇰 Denmark - 48.4%
  3. 🇨🇭 Switzerland - 47.0%
  4. 🇪🇪 Estonia - 46.6%
  5. 🇲🇹 Malta - 46.5%
  6. 🇫🇮 Finland - 46.3%
  7. 🇮🇪 Ireland - 44.9%
  8. 🇳🇱 Netherlands - 44.7%
  9. 🇨🇾 Cyprus - 44.2%
  10. 🇬🇷 Greece - 44.1%
  11. 🇱🇺 Luxembourg - 42.5%
  12. 🇧🇪 Belgium - 42.0%
  13. 🇸🇪 Sweden - 42.0%
  14. 🇦🇹 Austria - 39.4%
  15. 🇵🇹 Portugal - 38.7%

Eurostat data highlights a clear Northern European lead. Norway tops the list at over 56%, followed by Denmark and Finland, where usage is already close to or above 45%. In these countries, AI appears to have moved well beyond early adoption into mainstream everyday use for many people.

At the opposite end, adoption remains significantly lower in parts of Southeastern Europe. Romania records the lowest levels, with fewer than one in five people reporting recent use of AI tools.

Mixed Picture in Southern Europe

Southern Europe shows a more uneven pattern. Countries such as Italy (20%) and Turkey (19%) report relatively low engagement, while Cyprus and Greece both sit above 44%, closer to Northern European levels. Malta stands out even higher at around 47%.

Meanwhile, Spain (38%) and Portugal (39%) fall into a middle tier, broadly aligned with Western European countries such as France and the United Kingdom.

These differences suggest that AI adoption in the region does not neatly follow traditional economic development patterns.

Younger Users Driving Adoption

Age also plays a major role in AI usage trends. In the United Kingdom, overall adoption stands at about 34%, but among people aged 15 - 24, around 24% report using AI tools every day.

This points to a second layer of disparity: even in countries with moderate national averages, younger generations are already integrating AI deeply into education, work, and everyday digital activity.

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