Small and medium-sized Dutch companies are missing out on internet trade compared with the rest of Europe, according to figures released on Tuesday by the European Commission.

Digital economy commissioner Günther Oettinger has released figures showing how EU member countries are performing ahead of an ambitious restructuring programme aimed at creating a uniform digital market to encourage more growth in Europe.

According to the figures from the European statistics agency Eurostat, Dutch small and medium-sized companies generated 6.5% of their total turnover from e-commerce in 2014. The European average was 8.8%, with some countries such as Portugal and Denmark making over 10%.

However, in other areas the Netherlands is doing well. It scores highly on the availability and use of broadband connections and the number of government services offered via internet. Only Denmark, Sweden and Finland score higher, the report says.

Just 4.9% of the Dutch population has never used internet compared with a European average of 18%.