According to the data which also includes statistics on Croatia and other EU hopefuls and Norway, 56% of households had a broadband Internet connection in comparison to 49% in the first three months of 2008.

In the first quarter of 2009, Bulgaria had the lowest 30 % of household Internet access. In Greece and Romania each, 38% of households had Internet connections, while in the Netherlands 90% percent of households had access to the Internet.

Netherlands was followed Luxembourg (87%), Sweden (86%), Denmark (83%), Germany (79%), Finland (78%) and the United Kingdom (77%).
"The proportion of households with a broadband connection in 2009 was highest in Sweden (80%), the Netherlands (77%) and Denmark (76%)," the Eurostat reported on its web site.

In Croatia, every second household (50%) had access to the Internet in the first quarter of 2009, as against 45% in the first quarter of 2008.

Furthermore, 39% of Croatian households had a broadband Internet connection in the first three months of 2009 as against 27% in the comparable period in 2008.

When it comes to Individuals aged 16-74 having bought or ordered goods or services for private use over the Internet, in EU27 37% of individuals bought goods or services via the Internet in the last 12 months.

"This share varied considerably between Member States, ranging from 2% in Romania, 5% in Bulgaria and 8% in Lithuania to 66% in the United Kingdom, 64% in Denmark and 63% in the Netherlands and Sweden," the Eurostat said.

In Croatia, 10% of people bought or ordered goods or services over the Internet in the last 12 months.