ROME – A new government survey has revealed that Italy significantly lags behind other European nations when it comes to adopting artificial intelligence technology, underscoring wider challenges with digital literacy across the country.
According to Italy’s national statistics agency ISTAT, which conducted its inaugural survey on the topic, only 19.9% of Italian residents between ages 16 and 74 utilized AI tools during the past year. This figure falls well short of the European Union average of 32.7%.
Among EU member states, only Romania performed worse in AI adoption, recording a rate of 17.8%, the statistics agency reported.
The findings reflect Italy’s broader struggles with digital technology adoption. The country maintains the European Union’s most aged population, with residents having a median age of 48.7 years in 2024, significantly higher than the EU-wide median of 44.7 years, based on Eurostat data.
Italy’s digital divide extends beyond AI usage. A separate 2025 Eurostat study found that nearly one in ten Italians had avoided using the internet entirely during the preceding three months. Among EU nations, only Poland, Portugal, Lithuania, Greece, Bulgaria and Croatia recorded higher percentages of residents without recent internet access.
