Franchise Statistics Bureau · 2011-05
Do buyers prefer websites in their own language?
Figures are published by third parties, compiled as-is, and may change. We do not independently verify the underlying data — check the source before acting on it. For reference only; not legal, tax, or investment advice.
90%
of EU internet users
90% of EU internet users prefer to access websites in their own language, and 44% feel they miss interesting information because web pages are not in a language they understand.
In the same Eurobarometer survey, 55% said they at least occasionally use a foreign language when online. The figures date from 2011 (European Commission).
What this figure measures
The figure is the share of internet users aged 15 and over in the 27 EU member states who agreed that, when they have a choice of languages, they always visit a website in their own language; 68% strongly agreed and 22% rather agreed. The Commission's press release describes this as preferring to access websites in one's own language. It is a stated attitude from early 2011, not measured browsing.
How it was produced
The Flash Eurobarometer survey on user language preferences online was carried out by The Gallup Organization at the request of the European Commission's Directorate-General Information Society and Media. Gallup's fieldwork network interviewed internet users by fixed-line phone, mobile phone and face to face from January 28 to February 1, 2011, targeting 500 interviews per country and completing 13,752. EU-wide averages weight each country by population; no non-response weighting was applied.
What it does not tell you
Only internet users were surveyed, and internet use varied widely between countries: in Greece, Romania and Bulgaria fewer than half of those contacted had been online in the previous four weeks, making respondents there a selective group. Agreement with a statement is not the same as behaviour. The data describe the EU of 27 countries in early 2011, and the report states it does not represent the Commission's view.
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