Income levels cause wide disparities in home Internet access

Times of Malta

http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20091221/local/income-levels-cause-wide-disparities-in-home-internet-access

A survey on ICT usage among households and individuals has shown that computer and internet access amongst Maltese households rose to 67 per cent and 64 per cent respectively this year, the NSO said.

The NSO said different penetration rates were obtained when comparing internet access by household type and
household income. Internet access in households rose from 36 per cent for households earning less than €10,000 to 93 per cent for households earning €25,000 or more.

More than half of the individuals aged 16-74 in Malta and Gozo made use of computer and internet. These figures were highest among persons aged between 16 and 24 averaging over 90 per cent for both sexes.

Internet usage was also very high for persons with higher achieved levels of education. The number persons who had accessed the internet during the three months prior to the survey comprised 97 per cent of all students as well as 72 per cent of those employed.

Amongst those who used the internet in the last three months, nearly all individuals accessed the internet at home, while another 35 per cent used it at work. The use of internet for sending/receiving e-mails was widespread, with an estimated 89 per cent saying that they had used the internet for this purpose.
Nearly 40 per cent of those using internet in the last three months said that they used e-government
services to obtain information from public authorities' websites.

Another 27 per cent said that they used e-government services to download official forms.


E-Commerce

58 per cent of the persons using the internet within the last three months, ordered or purchased goods and services by means of the internet in the 12 months prior to the survey. The majority of these persons opted to purchase from retailers outside the European Union.

The most popular item category was clothing and sport goods. 41 per cent of individuals using e-commerce in the last 12 months spent between €100 to €500 during the three month period of the survey