Every fifth European uses wearables

In 2020, every fifth European used wearable devices (including smartwatches, smartbands, glasses, and helmets with augmented reality support, smart-clothes or smart-shoes, etc.) - according to data from the EU statistical office Eurostat. The study published by Eurostat shows that in 2020 19 percent of Europeans aged 16-74 used devices such as smartwatches, smartbands, and other internet-connected wearables. Among younger people (16-24 years old), this percentage was 28 percent and it decreased with the age of the respondents. Thus, in the 25-54 age group, 23 percent of the respondents used wearables, in the age group 55-64 – 11 percent, and in the group 65-74, only one in 20 (5 percent) used devices of this type.

In 2020, wearables were the most popular in the Czech Republic, Finland, and Estonia, where they were used by 35 percent, 33 percent, and 31 percent residents, respectively. . The inhabitants of Greece (7 percent), Romania (8 percent) and Cyprus (9 percent) used this type of equipment least frequently.

In Poland, the percentage of people using various types of wearables in 2020 was 13 percent.

The popularization of wearables has been recognized by the Panel for the Future of Science and Technology (STOA) of the European Parliament as one of the ten new technologies that will change people's lives the most. STOA emphasizes in the report that the development of wearables technology is an opportunity for Europe to regain competitiveness in the production of ICT devices because unlike the computer or mobile industry, the wearables market is not yet dominated by Asian and American big players.

(PAP)