81.4% of the population used internet regularly in 2018

A majority of individuals aged between 16 and 74 made regular use of the internet in 2018. In fact, 306,692 people made regular use of the internet last year, amounting to 81.4% of the population.

This figure slightly increased from last year's National Statistics Office figure of 81%.

All of the 16 to 24 age cohort in the population said to have use the internet in 2018 while individuals aged between 65 and 74 recorded the lowest internet usage levels at 37.9%.

In 2018, out of all the internet users, 279,305 also made use of a smartphone. Even those using a tablet to access the internet (122,255) outnumbered those using a portable computer (117,223).

The survey on ICT usage by households is conducted by the National Statistics Office (NSO) on an annual basis, under European Regulation.

NSO graphic depicting internet usage

The survey also revealed that a total of 94.3% of the population accessed the internet every single day. Internet was mostly used for communication purposes, with 95.8% of users employing internet services to communicate with peers, while 88.8% accessed the internet for entertainment purposes.

Males (48.8%) outnumbered females (47%) by a slight margin when it comes to using the internet for communication purposes. More males used the internet for entertainment purposes and for access to information.

Men continue to outnumber females in terms of internet usage—the same thing was seen in 2017, with women using the internet less than men by 3%.

Internet users who engaged in e-commerce activities during 2018 amounted to 203,587, or 66.4%. This is up by more than 1% from the previous year. The most common goods or services bought online were clothes, sports goods, holiday accommodations and other travel arrangements.

During 2018, the total number of individuals who accessed or made use of e-Government services stood at 174,243 representing 56.8% of total internet users.