3. Internet users

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Over 60% of the OECD adult populations use a mobile or smartphone to connect to the Internet.

For most people, the Internet is now part of everyday life. Between 2006 and 2016, total usage rates across the OECD increased by 25 percentage points from 59% to 84%. On average, 74% of individuals in OECD countries for which data are available connect to the Internet on a daily basis, while 62% of the OECD adult population used a mobile or smartphone to connect.

Internet usage varies widely across OECD countries and among social groups. In 2016, no less than 97% of the adult population accessed the Internet in Denmark, Iceland, Japan, Luxembourg and Norway. However, Internet usage was substantially lower in Mexico at only 60% and even lower (58%) in Turkey. Among non-OECD countries, this share varied between 58% in Brazil and 22% in Indonesia.

Differences in Internet uptake are linked primarily to age and education, often intertwined with income levels. In all OECD countries except the United States, the proportion of Internet users with tertiary education was above 90% in 2016, but there were wide differences among less educated people. The share of Internet users among individuals with low or no education ranges between over 90% in Denmark, Iceland, Luxembourg and Norway and less than 40% in Chile and Greece. In Mexico and Turkey, the difference in Internet uptake between high and low-education individuals was 35 percentage points and above. People with lower education are therefore a potential focus for strategies to foster digital inclusion.

In 2016, Internet usage among women in OECD countries (83%) was still slightly lower than among men (85%). This difference was more pronounced in Turkey, where Internet usage among women was 18 percentage points below that of men, Austria (-7) and Italy (-6). Overall, there are large differences in the total share of Internet users between young (96%) and elderly women (61%) across the OECD.

Definitions

Users include individuals who accessed the Internet within the last three months prior to surveying. Different recall periods have been used for some countries (see chapter notes).

Daily users consist of individuals accessing the Internet approximately every day on a typical week (i.e. excluding holidays, etc.).

Mobile Internet usage is defined as using the Internet away from home or work on a portable computer or handheld device. Figures on individuals using the Internet via mobile or smartphones include connection via mobile or wireless networks for countries in the European Statistical System; for other countries see chapter notes.

Measurability

Not all OECD countries survey ICT usage by households and individuals. Data availability for specific indicators also varies (see chapter notes). Surveys in Australia, Canada, Chile, Israel and New Zealand are undertaken on a multi-year or occasional basis, but take place annually in other countries. In the European Union, the survey is compulsory in only eight countries. Breakdown of indicators by age or educational attainment groups may also raise issues about the robustness of information, especially for smaller countries, owing to sample size and survey design.

The OECD is actively engaged in work to facilitate the collection of comparable information in this field through its Model Survey on ICT Access and Usage by Households and Individuals (OECD, 2015b), and its encouragement of coordinated collection of statistics on ICT usage in general.