Students most frequent internet users in Cyprus

Students are the group most frequently connected to the internet (99%), according to the results of the 2022 household information and communication technology usage survey, published by the Statistical Service on Thursday.

According to the survey, nine out of ten people use the internet at least once a week, while internet use decreases with age, starting at 98.8% for the 16-24 age group, internet use decreases to 71.1% for the 55-74 age group. People with a high level of level of education use the internet more frequently (97.9%) than people with a low level of education (64.4%). It also appears that women use the internet more frequently than men, with rates of 90.4% and 88% respectively.

The most popular internet activities in Q1 2022 were messaging via Skype, Messenger, WhatsApp and Viber (91.9%), making calls online (91.4%), watching videos from sharing services such as YouTube (88.6%), participating in social networks such as Facebook and Twitter (87%) and searching for information about products or services (81.6%).

In addition, the survey found that 17.8% of those who used the internet in the first quarter of 2022 used online educational materials but not a completed online course, 17.7% took an online class, and 17% communicated with teachers or students using online audio or video tools.

In the period between April 2021 and March 2022, 50.7% of people between the ages of 16-74 accessed information stored for them by public authorities or agencies, 41.2% received information and 15.3% accessed information from public databases or registers, according to the results of the e-government survey.

In terms of e-commerce, the survey shows that the percentage of people who made purchases online in the first quarter of the year fell to 37% compared to 48% in the same period last year.

The most popular goods or services categories ordered or purchased online were clothing, shoes or accessories at 75.8%, orders from restaurants, fast-food chains or catering services (delivery) at 71.8%, sports equipment at 34.5% and computers, mobile phones or other electronic accessories at 30.6%.

Finally, the survey showed that 84.8% bought from local Cypriot sellers, 77.7% bought from sellers based in EU countries and 59.7% bought from sellers from the rest of the world.