In the EU, 8.2 million persons were employed in 2016 as ICT specialists, representing 3.7% of total employment, up from 3.0% in 2011, according to data from Eurostat, the statistical body of the European Union.

In 2011, there were 6.3 million employed as ICT specialists in the EU. Eurostat states that over recent years, both the number and the share of ICT specialists in total employment have continuously risen to better adapt to an ever digitalised world.

The data shows that the ICT profession is largely made up of men, accounting in 2016 for 83.3% of ICT specialists employed in the EU and of highly educated people, with more than 6 in 10 ICT specialists (61.8%) having a tertiary education or higher.

In 2016, 20% of enterprises in the EU employed ICT specialists and nearly 9% recruited or tried to recruit ICT specialists. However, 41% of enterprises which recruited or tried to recruit ICT specialists had difficulties in filling vacancies.

In 2016, three member states accounted for half of all ICT specialists employed in the EU. These were the United Kingdom (1.6 million persons), Germany (1.5 million) and France (1.0 million). In relative terms, the highest shares of ICT specialists in total employment were recorded in Finland (6.6%) and Sweden (6.3%). At the opposite end of the scale, Greece (1.4%) registered the lowest proportion, followed by Romania (2.0%), Cyprus and Latvia (both 2.2%).

Compared with 2011, both the absolute number and the share of ICT specialists in total employment increased in almost all Member States by 2016.

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