4.1. User sophistication
In 2018, 86% of individuals aged 16-74 years in the OECD area were Internet users and 77% used the Internet on a daily basis following a sustained rise in adoption from about 58% accessing the Internet, and 36% daily users in 2006. Internet usage tends to be less ubiquitous outside the OECD, with fewer than 60% of individuals accessing the Internet in Brazil, China and South Africa, and less than 40% in India and Indonesia. Mobile technology has played a particularly important role in driving Internet uptake, with 70% of OECD users accessing the Internet via mobile devices. In the EU28, the share of households choosing not to have Internet access at home because “access was not needed” (i.e. content was not useful or not interesting) dropped from 20% in 2006 to 6% in 2017.
Internet usage continues to vary widely across OECD countries and among social groups. In 2018, over 97% of individuals aged 16-74 used the Internet in Iceland, Denmark, Norway and Luxembourg but only around 70% did so in Mexico and Turkey. In Indonesia and India, the share was around 30%. In Chile, Korea and Iceland almost all Internet users access the Internet daily but such frequent use is less common in Japan and Poland.
The types of activities carried out over the Internet vary widely across countries, linked to diverse institutional, cultural and economic factors, including age and educational attainment. Internet usage for more sophisticated activities also varies by country and is impacted by factors such as familiarity with online services, trust, and skills. In all OECD countries, one of the main online activities is participation in social networks, although online shopping is even more popular in some countries such as the United Kingdom and the Netherlands, and markedly so in Germany, Switzerland, and France. In nearly all countries, the share of online purchasers in 2018 was higher than in 2010. The increase was notable in countries with a lower uptake at the beginning of the period such as Mexico.
The number and complexity of the activities individuals undertake online can give an indication of their sophistication as Internet users. The indicator presented here is derived from individual micro-data made available by Eurostat for countries in the European Statistical System (ESS). In 2016, in a majority of countries included in the sample, over half of individuals made “diversified and complex use” of the Internet including activities linked to e-finance, learning and creativity (e.g. uploading of creative content). However, less than 40% of individuals engaged in such activities in Poland and Italy. These cross-country disparities in diversified and complex use shed light on a digital divide in terms of Internet uses, despite access to the Internet progressively becoming universal.
Over three quarters of individuals in the OECD use the Internet every day, and two thirds use the Internet to shop online.
Definitions
Internet users are individuals who accessed the Internet within the three months prior to being surveyed. Different recall periods apply for some countries (see chapter notes). Daily users are individuals accessing the Internet approximately every day in a typical week (i.e. excluding holidays).
Cloud storage relates to use of the Internet as a storage space to save files for private purposes. Content creation relates to uploading self-created content on sharing websites such as social networks.
Individuals making diversified and complex use of the Internet perform, on average, the largest number and variety of activities (more than 8 out of the eleven 11 online activity types surveyed). Such individuals account for the majority of online activities linked to e-finance, learning and creativity – relatively complex activities performed by a relatively small share of individuals.
Measurability
Data on Internet usage and online activities are typically gathered through direct surveys of households’ ICT usage. Surveys ask if the respondent has undertaken a specific activity during the recall period. The OECD Model Survey on ICT Access and Usage by Households and Individuals (OECD, 2015a) proposes a wide range of activities for investigation. A recall period of three months is recommended (meaning the respondent should have undertaken the online activity in the three months prior to being surveyed); however, some countries use longer recall periods or have no recall period at all.
The European Community Survey on ICT Usage in Households and by Individuals provides information on the actions that individuals perform online. These can be grouped into eleven 11 major areas: communication, social networks, access to information, entertainment, creativity, learning, e-health, e-banking, e-finance, e-government, and e-commerce. The identification of individuals making diversified and complex use of Internet is based on a clustering algorithm (k-means) that groups individuals according to the similarity of their online activities. The clustering algorithm was run on the entire sample of OECD countries with available data, sourced from the European Community Survey on ICT Usage in Households and by Individuals (2016).
Source: OECD, ICT Access and Usage by Households and Individuals Database, http://oe.cd/hhind; Eurostat, Digital Economy Statistics; ITU, World Telecommunication/ICT indicators Database and national sources, December 2018. See 1. StatLink contains more data.
← 1. Unless otherwise stated, Internet users are defined as individuals who accessed the Internet within the last 3 months. For Canada, Colombia and Japan, the recall period is 12 months. For the United States, the recall period is 6 months for 2017 and no time period is specified in 2006. For New Zealand, the recall period is 12 months for 2006. For India, Indonesia, the Russian Federation and South Africa, no time period is specified.
For Australia, data refer to the fiscal years 2016/17 and 2006/07 ending on 30 June. The reference period is 12 months in 2006. For Brazil, data refer to 2016 and 2008. For Canada, data refer to 2012 and 2007. Data refer to individuals aged 16 and over instead of 16-74 in 2006. The reference period is 12 months. For Israel, data refer to 2016 instead of 2018 and to all individuals aged 20 and over instead of 16-74. For Japan, data refer to 2016 instead of 2018 and to individuals aged 15 to 69. For Chile, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Indonesia, Korea, Mexico, the Russian Federation, South Africa, Switzerland and the United States, data refer to 2017 instead of 2018. For EU28, data refer to 2007 instead of 2006.
Notes for all users:
For Colombia, data refer to 2008 instead of 2006.
For New Zealand, data refer to 2012 instead of 2018. The reference period is 12 months in 2006.
For Turkey and the United States, data refer to 2007 instead of 2006.
For Costa Rica, data refer to 2017 instead of 2018.
For China, India, Indonesia, the Russian Federation and South Africa, data originate from ITU, World Telecommunication/ICT Indicators (WTI) Database 2018.
For India, data refer to 2016 instead of 2018.
For Indonesia, data include individuals aged 5 or more.
Notes for daily users:
For Italy, data refer to 2017 instead of 2018.
For Costa Rica, OECD estimates are based on data provided by MICITT (Ministry of Science, Technology and Telecommunications).
For the Russian Federation, data originate from ITU, World Telecommunication/ICT Indicators (WTI) Database 2018 and refer to 2016 instead of 2018 and to individuals aged 15-72 instead of 16-74.
Notes for mobile users:
For Costa Rica, OECD estimates are based on data provided by MICITT (Ministry of Science, Technology and Telecommunications).
For Korea, the reference period is 12 months.
For New Zealand, data originate from Statistics New Zealand. Data refer to individuals aged 15 to 74, to 2012 instead of 2018 and to mobile access and include individuals using cellular and wireless. Individuals may use both.
Source: OECD, ICT Access and Usage by Households and Individuals Database, http://oe.cd/hhind, December 2018. See 1. StatLink contains more data.
← 1. Unless otherwise stated, Internet users are defined as individuals who accessed the Internet within the last 3 months. For Canada, Colombia, Japan, Korea and New Zealand, the recall period is 12 months. For the United States, the recall period is 6 months.
For Australia, data refer to the fiscal year 2016/17 ending on 30 June, except for “Telephone” (2012/13).
For Brazil, data refer to 2016.
For Canada and New Zealand, data refer to 2012.
For Chile, Colombia, Korea, Mexico, Switzerland and the United States, data refer to 2017.
For Costa Rica, data refer to 2017 and to individuals aged 18-74 instead of 16-74.
For Israel, data refer to 2016 and to individuals aged 20 and more instead of 16-74.
For Japan, data refer to 2016 and to individuals aged 15-69 instead of 16-74. For “Content creation” and “Cloud”, data refer to 2015.
Source: OECD (forthcoming), Skills Outlook 2019: Skills and Digitalisation, OECD publishing, Paris. See 1.
← 1. Individuals with diversified and complex use are individuals who perform, on average, the largest number (more than 8 out of the 11 types of major online activities) and variety of activities. They are also those who perform the bigger share of activities linked to e-finance, learning and creativity – activities performed by the smallest range of individuals which can also be considered more complex activities.