The bar chart illustrates the percentage of households in urban/suburban and rural areas of a European country that had internet access between 1999 and 2004.
Overall, internet access rose substantially in both areas, with urban/suburban households maintaining a clear lead. However, rural households experienced faster growth and began to close the gap by the end of the period.
In 1999, only about 15% of urban households were connected to the internet, compared to roughly 2% of rural homes. The urban figure almost doubled to 30% by 2000 and continued to climb steadily, reaching around 55% in 2004.
By contrast, rural access grew at a much sharper pace. It rose gradually from 2% in 1999 to 10% in 2001, before accelerating to 25% in 2003 and reaching approximately 35% in 2004. Despite this strong increase, rural areas still lagged behind their urban counterparts.
In summary, although urban households consistently enjoyed greater internet availability, rural areas saw the most dramatic growth during the period.