Nicosia, Cyprus. Cyprus is the only EU country where girls aged 16 to 19 outperform boys in coding, according to a Eurostat report based on a 2025 survey on ICT use in households and by individuals. The report found Cyprus recorded a 4.3 percentage point lead for girls in coding.
Gender gap and digital skills in the EU
Eurostat said a gender gap persists across most EU countries, though Cyprus stood out as an exception. Across the EU, girls in this age group showed higher levels of digital content creation skills than the general population.
Everyday digital activities
Among internet users, 79.2 per cent of girls copied or moved files between folders, devices or cloud services. Another 75.2 per cent used word processing software, while 71.4 per cent created files combining text, images, tables, charts, animations or sound.
Editing, spreadsheets and advanced features
Eurostat reported 62.4 per cent of girls edited photos, video or audio files, and 52.0 per cent used spreadsheet software in the three months preceding the survey. More advanced use was also recorded, with 24.4 per cent using advanced spreadsheet features to organise, analyse or modify data.
Coding and comparisons with the general population and boys
The report said 10 per cent of girls wrote code in a programming language. Across all listed areas, girls exceeded levels recorded for the general population, with differences ranging from 28.4 percentage points in integrated content creation to 0.4 percentage points in advanced spreadsheet use. Girls also outperformed boys in photo, video or audio editing, word processing, integrated content creation, and file management tasks.
How do your digital skills compare with the activities reported by girls aged 16 to 19 in the Eurostat survey?
