ROME, April 22 (Reuters) – Italy has one of the lowest rates of ‌artificial intelligence use in Europe, ‌data showed on Wednesday, highlighting a broader shortfall ​in digital skills in the euro zone’s third-largest economy.

Just 19.9% of Italians aged 16 to 74 used artificial intelligence ‌tools last ⁠year, compared with a European average of 32.7%, national statistics ⁠agency ISTAT said in its first such survey.

Only Romania had a lower ​score, with ​17.8%, it added.

Italy ​has the oldest ‌population in the European Union, with a median age of 48.7 in 2024 compared with an EU average of 44.7, according to EU statistics agency ‌Eurostat, and it lags ​many peers on ​key digital skills ​indicators.

Nearly 10% of Italy’s ‌population had not used ​internet in ​the previous three months, according to a 2025 Eurostat survey. Only Poland, ​Portugal, ‌Lithuania, Greece, Bulgaria and Croatia recorded ​higher shares.

(Reporting by Alvise Armellini, editing ​by Gavin Jones)

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