E-Health: Age and Regional Patterns in Bulgaria
How age and place shape access to digital healthcare
- Adoption peaks in mid-life, not among the oldest - Estimated eHealth penetration is about 12.9% among 31-50-year-olds, versus only 2.4% among people aged 70+. Raw registration totals alone understate how steep the age gap is once population size is accounted for.
- Skills and internet use fall sharply with age - Only 9.5% of 65-74-year-olds have at least basic digital skills. Among people aged 75-89, 59.7% have never used the internet - consistent with the very low eHealth penetration in the 70+ group.
- Place matters too - There is roughly a fourfold gap in internet non-use between the Southwestern region (3.3%) and the North Central region (12.3%), pointing to regional as well as age-based barriers to digital healthcare access.
