The number of Internet users aged over 14 in the A.C. of the Basque Country in the last quarter of 2006 stood at 766,400 persons, 41.6% of the Basque population of this age, according to Eustat data. This percentage represents a 1.5% increase in relation to the second quarter of the same year, although the increase is 10.9% with regard to the previous year.

By provinces, Bizkaia saw the highest growth in users, 4% with regard to the second quarter of 2006, taking second place with regard to the percentage of Internet users, with 41.5%. Gipuzkoa continues to the province with the highest percentage of users –42.8%–, registering a 1% en increase in the second quarter of 2006. Álava, however, saw a reduction in the number of Internet users in the fourth quarter by 2.7 percentage points, the percentage of the Internet user population aged over 14.coming to 39.4%

Graph 1. Evolution of the population age 15 and over by access to ICT equipment in the home by quarter. 1999-2006. %

Source: EUSTAT

Users aged 65 and over increased by 12,8%

According to age, there was an important increase in users aged 65 and over which came to 12.8% with regard to the second quarter of 2006, and from 25 to 34 year old users increased by 4.4%.

The gap between sexes, which in the second quarter of 2006 fell to 5.7 percentage points, in the fourth rose again to 7.2 points. Thus, in relation to the population aged 15 and over, male Internet users represented 45.3% of the male population and 38.1% in the case of female users. In fact, 53% of the total Internet users in the fourth quarter of 2006 were males, compared with 47% of female users.

With regard to activity, there was a 3.5% rise in the number of Internet users among workers, with regard to the same quarter in 2006. In the case of students, the percentage fell by 3.3% and in that of inactive or unemployed persons it fell by 2.3%. In addition, there was an 2.8% increase in connections at the workplace. At places of study, however, Internet access fell by 4.2%. At home there was a slight increase –1.8%, other places of access –Cybercafés, hotels, leisure areas,…– offering a greater increase, which came to 21.5%.

Significant increase in the use of English to surf the Internet

The percentage of Internet users who surf in English increased by 19.2%, while those who did so in Basque increased by 1,5% and by 2.4% for those who used Spanish. The average length of connection to the Internet was 45.7 minutes in the fourth quarter of 2006, by which there was a two and a half minute reduction with regard to the second quarter of the year.

24.5% of the Internet user population aged over 14 purchased products or services through the Web in the last quarter

The number of persons who have purchased over the Internet rose. In the last quarter of 2006, 30,100 persons more used the Internet in different ways, which represents over 187,700 users who carried out some kind of purchase over the Web. This figure represents a 19.1% increase with regard to the second quarter of 2006.

Continuous increase in the Basque households with access to ICT equipment

The presence of Information and Communication Technology equipment continues to spread in Basque households. In the fourth quarter of 2006, 53% have a computer in the home, which represented 4% more than in the second quarter of the same year and 7.2% more than with regard to the same quarter the year before.

320,000 families have access to the Internet from their homes, over 40%, another 12,000 obtaining an Internet connection in the last quarter of 2006. In annual terms, households with Internet access represent almost 12% more than in 2005. in addition the figure for the population aged over 14 with access to the Web grew by 22,900 persons, 1.3 percentage points, giving a total of over 906,000 persons who are potential Internet users in the home.

Mobile phones are present in 85.6% of households, their existence combined with land lines, which remained constant in almost 93% of households. If we refer to the population aged 14, the percentage who have this equipment comes to 91.2%, 1.8 percentage points higher than in the second quarter of 2006.

Table 1. Survey on the information society (ESI-Families)

Source: Eustat