Belgian digital divide study finds 42% of population vulnerable as essential services move online

Shifting barriers in a connected country

The fourth edition of the Digital Inclusion Barometer, published on 2 October 2026 by the King Baudouin Foundation, indicates that 42% of Belgians aged 16 to 89 live in digital vulnerability. Conducted by researchers Périne Brotcorne from UCLouvain and Koen Ponnet from UGent using 2025 Statbel survey data, the study shows that access barriers have altered rather than resolved. While between 95% and 96% of households with residents aged 16 to 74 possess a home internet connection, technological difficulties now concentrate in hardware limitations and user competency.

Périne Brotcorne explained how digital disparities have evolved:

The inequalities shift much more than they disappear; they become less visible.

Demographic divides in digital literacy

For citizens aged 16 to 74, the vulnerability rate stands at 39% (comprising 4% non-users and 35% with low digital skills), compared to 40% recorded in the 2024 report. The inclusion of individuals aged 75 to 89 for the first time raises the national figure to 42%. Among this older demographic, 81% face digital vulnerability and 34% do not use the internet. Education levels remain an equally strong determinant, with 72% of low-educated individuals classified as vulnerable. Among job seekers with low educational attainment, the proportion reaches 63%, compared to 40% for the overall unemployed population and 29% for employed workers.

Skill gaps are particularly pronounced in cybersecurity and technical problem solving. Across internet users aged 16 to 74, 27% hold no skills in digital security. This deficit also touches younger generations, where 20% of users aged 16 to 24 lack any digital safety competency.

Périne Brotcorne noted the expanding need for broader comprehension of digital environments:

What appears more and more over the years is the critical mastery of these uses, that is to say the understanding of how this very complex and increasingly opaque ecosystem works.

Essential public services and social exclusion

The rapid migration of administrative procedures, banking, healthcare, and transport systems to online portals creates functional barriers for vulnerable groups. Among internet users with low educational qualifications, 36% do not use online administrative portals, a rate four times higher than among university graduates. In addition, 12% of households with monthly incomes under 1,400 euros and single individuals lack internet access at home, rising to 22% for low-income isolated people.

A lack of digital access also generates psychological impacts. Among non-users of the internet, 56% report strong or very strong feelings of social exclusion, a sentiment that rises to 75% among those aged 55 and older.

Périne Brotcorne described the stagnation in overall progress:

If progress is observed, it remains limited, and the proportion of people in digital vulnerability stagnates over the years.

Local support and public computer spaces

To counter these divides, local public computer spaces (known as Espaces publics numériques or EPN) operate across municipalities to provide internet access, hardware, and training. At the Atelier du web in Saint-Gilles, located beneath the municipal town hall, users pay 3 euros per month to access thirty desktop computers running Linux, receive staff support from 9:00 to 17:00, and attend classes covering basic tasks such as copying text, creating resumes, paying for parking online, and navigating administrative platforms. Job seekers utilize these public facilities when limited by time restrictions on administrative terminals, such as the 90-minute computer limit at Actiris employment offices.