Eight out of 10 people in Malta use internet regularly but 63,000 have never used a computer

A survey by the National Statistics Office shows that 80% of the Maltese population aged between 16 and 74 made regular use of the internet in 2017 • Clothes, sports goods and holiday accomodation are most common online purchases

The survey found 80% of Maltese made regular use of the internet
The survey found 80% of Maltese made regular use of the internet

All young people aged between 16 and 24 made regular use of the internet, figures out on Tuesday show.

However, regular internet usage is prevalent across all age groups apart from those aged between 65 and 74. In the elderly age group, 40.6% made regular use of the internet.

The survey by the National Statistics Office found that 80.1% of people between 16 and 74 made regular use of the internet in 2017, an increase of 2.8 points over 2016.

The most common internet usage was communication, followed by access to information.

The findings also found that 62,807 people, or 18.5%, never made use of a computer.

In 2017, 96% of mobile internet users accessed the internet via a wireless network (Wifi) connection while those accessing mobile internet via a 3G or 4G connection accounted for 86%

Internet users who engaged in e-commerce activities in 2017 amounted to 175,200, or 64.5%, up by 1.8 percentage points on the previous year.

The most common goods or services acquired online were clothes and sports goods, holiday accommodation and other travel arrangements

Age group    Regular internet usage

16-24                           100%

25-34                            96.6%

35-44                            94.6%

45-54                            85.4%

55-64                            62.1%

65-74                            40.6%