An ever growing number of people use computers at work. In Germany the percentage of people using computers in the workplace increased from 56% (2006) to 61% (2007). The German Association for Information Management, Telecommunications and New Media (BITKOM) thinks that this is a good sign given that the use of computers enhances productivity and efficiency which in turn leads to more growth of the entire economy.
At the EU level Germany ranks third with regard to the professional use of computers. While about 61% of German employees used a computer at work in 2007, the European average in this respect was 50%. First came Finnland (70%), followed by Sweden (64%). There remains still a lot to be desired in the South-Eastern region of Europe. In Bulgaria, for instance, the percentage of computer users was just 20% in 2007 and only 35% in Hungary.
At the same time the importance of email in the workplace is increasing too. In Germany, for instance, 48% of all gainfully employed people have professional email addresses. This was revealed by a representative Forsa survey. 