Eight out of ten households have an Internet connection at home

Photo: SCANPIX

According to Statistics Estonia, in the 1st quarter of 2013, 80% of households in Estonia had access to the Internet at home. The share of such households has increased five percentage points compared to the same period of the previous year.

The Internet connection at home is almost always a broadband connection (DSL, cable TV, 3G mobile Internet etc). Almost all households with children had an Internet connection at home. 65% of single adults, 76% of households of two adults and 93% of households of three or more adults had an Internet connection at home. The main reasons for not having an Internet connection at home are lack of skills, the high cost of equipment and access, and the lack of need for Internet.

Among persons aged 16–74, 80% have used the Internet. Use of the computer and the Internet is less widespread in the older age groups. 63% of 55–64-year-olds and 31% of 65–74-year-olds had used the Internet. Compared to the previous year, the share of Internet users has increased by four percentage points in both age groups. Almost all Internet users have used the Internet at home. In addition to home use, 16–24-year-old Internet users also use the Internet at educational institutions and older age groups use the Internet at work (when the place of work is an educational institution, it is considered as use of the Internet at work).

Nine out of ten Internet users have used the Internet for reading web publications, Internet banking and e-mailing. The most common Internet skill is searching for information; almost all Internet users regardless of age can perform this task. A very common skill is also adding attachments to e-mails, which is used a little less among older age groups. The influence of age is the biggest in case of posting messages to online forums and using peer-to-peer file sharing. Peer-to-peer file sharing is also much more widespread among men.

About half of the employees of enterprises with 10 or more persons employed use computers and the Internet in their everyday work; this share has remained the same for the last three years. The speed of the Internet connections used increases year by year: half of the enterprises have a fastest download speed over 10 Mbit/s. Three quarters of enterprises with 10 or more persons employed have a website, and three quarters of them use it to introduce their products and services. One fifth of the enterprises with a website also offer online ordering on their website.

Statistics Estonia conducts the survey on the use of information technology among persons aged 16–74 and in households since 2005, as an annex to the Labour Force Survey. The survey is carried out in the 2nd quarter; the reference period is the 1st quarter. In 2013, 5,000 persons participated in the survey. A household is a group of persons who live at the same address and share joint financial resources and whose members consider themselves to be members of one household, while family is based on relationship or kinship.

Statistics Estonia has surveyed the use of information technology in enterprises since 2001.

In 2013, 3,100 enterprises participated in the survey. The survey involves enterprises with 10 or more persons employed.

The use of information technology in households, by individuals aged 16–74 and in enterprises is studied by statistical organisations in all the European Union Member States on the basis of a harmonised methodology.