Press Releases

Use of the Internet

On the basis of the results of the ad hoc survey carried out by the Statistical Service of Cyprus, nine out of ten individuals use the internet at least once a week. Internet use decreases with age: starting from 99,3% for the 16–24 age group, internet use drops to 72,8% for the 55–74 age group. Persons with high educational attainment level use the internet more frequently (99,1%) than persons with low educational attainment level (65,2%). (Figure 1)

The most popular internet activities by individuals during the first quarter of 2023 were instant messaging via Skype, Messenger, WhatsApp and Viber (95,9%), making calls over the internet (95,4%), participating in social networks like Facebook and Twitter (90,5%), reading online news sites/newspapers/news magazines (89,1%) and finding information about goods or services (89,1%). (Table 1)

14,8% of persons that used the internet in the first quarter of 2023, used online learning material other than a complete online course, 13,3% had an online course and 10,9% communicated with educators or learners using audio or video online tools. (Table 1)

e-Government

During the period April 2022 - March 2023, 50,1% of individuals aged 16-74 obtained information online, 43,3% accessed information stored about them by public authorities or public services and 24,9% accessed information from public databases or registers.

e-Commerce

The proportion of individuals aged 16-74 years old placing online orders during the first quarter of 2023 increased significantly to 55,3% compared to 37,0% in the corresponding period of 2022. (Figure 2)

The most popular categories of goods/services ordered online were the following: clothes (including sport clothing), shoes or accessories (82,3%), deliveries or pick up from restaurants, fast-food chains (81,7%), food or beverages from stores or from meal-kits providers (41,4%) and sports goods (excluding sport clothing) (24,5%). (Table 2)

Among the people who bought or ordered goods or services for private use in the first quarter of 2023, 86,6% preferred sellers from Cyprus, 80,7% bought from sellers from other EU member countries and 47,2% from sellers from the rest of the world. (Table 2)

…: Data not available

Methodological Note

Aim

The aim of the survey is to collect data on the access to selected Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), the use of the internet, use of e-Government, use of electronic identification (eId), e-Commerce, E-skills and privacy and protection of personal data

Coverage

The survey was conducted during the period April – June 2023 and covered 1.803 households with at least one member aged 16 – 74 and 3.540 individuals aged 16 – 74.

Sampling

The sampling frame used for the selection of the sample was the 2021 Population Census, with reference date the 1st of October 2021. The sampling units are the households.

The selection of the sample in urban areas was done by simple random sampling (one-stage sampling). In rural areas, two-stage sampling was used. Communities constituted the primary sampling units, while households were the secondary sampling units. Neighbouring communities with a small number of households were merged in order to create agglomerations with a minimum number of households. The sample of communities was selected with probability proportional to the size of the community (PPS). Some communities are large and therefore their probability of selection was equal to 1. A simple random sample of households was selected within each community selected.

All individuals aged 16-74 years within each sampled household were selected.

Data Collection

The data collection was conducted through personal interviews with all individuals of households aged 16-74 years. In case of absence of an individual, another family member helped with the answers.

Reference Period

The data refer to the first quarter of 2023, unless otherwise stated.

Definitions

e-Commerce: Use of e-commerce refers to the purchase of goods and services over the Internet for private use via any device. Purchases refer to ordering goods or services for which payment is required but the payment does not have to be online. Orders via manually typed e-mails, SMS or MMS should be excluded.

e-Government: Use of e-government refers to electronic contacts via the Internet with public authorities and some public services. Contacts through manually typed e-mails should be excluded.

Use of Internet: Internet use via any device: desktop, laptop, netbook, tablet, as well as smart phones, games consoles, e-book readers.

For more information visit the CYSTAT Portal, subtheme Information Society, CYSTAT-DB (Online Database), Methodological Information or contact Mr Antreas Charalambous: tel: +357-26804436, email: ancharalambous@cystat.mof.gov.cy.

The data included in the Predefined Tables in Excel format are available up to 2020.

(GS/MS)