Press release 28/10/2022

INFORMATION SOCIETY SURVEY. FAMILIES. 2022

86.3% of the population of the Basque Country connected to the internet in 2022, 1.4 percentage points more than in the previous year

52% of households had pay-TV, 3,700 fewer families than the previous year

The number of internet users aged 15 and over in the Basque Country, that is, individuals who had connected to the internet in the last three months, whether at home, in the workplace, place of study or elsewhere, stood at 1,630,000 in 2022, accounting for 86.3% of the overall Basque population in this age group, according to Eustat data. This percentage was up 1.4 percentage points compared to the same period last year.

As in previous years, the internet user population increased the most among those aged 65 and over (+6 percentage points); more than half of the population in this group (55.3%) were internet users in 2022. Despite this, figures for this age range were far removed from the other age groups, all of which saw figures greater than 93%, particularly the under-54s, where nearly the entire population were internet users.

Men using the internet represented 87.6% of the male population, while women users accounted for 85.2% of the female population. The so-called gender gap stood at 2.4 percentage points in 2022, two points less than in 2021. The narrowing of this gap was the result of a better evolution among women compared to men in the older age groups. It is worth noting that there were 21,400 new internet users in the 65 and over age range.

As regards the provinces, Álava, with similar figures to those obtained in 2021 (-0.1 percentage points), maintained its position as the province with the highest percentage of individual users (86.9%) in the Basque Country. Bizkaia was the province where the percentage of internet users grew the most (+2.3 points) and moved into second place with 86.5% of users, ahead of Gipuzkoa, which experienced more modest growth over the last year (+0.6 points) and came in third place, with 85.7% of the population aged 15 and over using the internet.

The three Basque capitals took the same positions as their provinces: Vitoria-Gasteiz remained the capital with the highest proportion of the population using the internet (86.8%), followed by Bilbao (86.2%) and San Sebastián (84.9%). At regional level, the differences in the percentage of users were close to around 4 percentage points between the highest value in Plentzia-Mungia (88.9%) and the lowest in Alto Deba (85%).

Internet use increased most among inactive and unemployed people

In relation to activity, practically the entire student population (99.9%) and employed population (99.2%) were internet users. On the other hand, despite being the group that displayed the greatest increase (1.8 points) compared to the first quarter of the previous year, the inactive and unemployed population (67.4%) stood far removed from the others, with differences of more than 32 percentage points.

With regard to the level of education reached, 98.3% of people who had completed higher education were internet users, followed by 93.5% who had completed secondary education and, lastly, 68% of people educated to primary school level.

The preferred language for web browsing was Spanish (97.4%), followed by Basque (20.4%) and English (15.3%). The usual location continued to be the private home, with 96.5% of users connecting from their home.

The internet was used more to communicate with others and search for information

The services used most by people online were those associated with communication and access to information. WhatsApp and other similar instant messaging applications were the most widely used among the population, with percentages above 92%, irrespective of internet users’ socio-demographic characteristics (age, sex, occupation or level of education completed). The people who used these apps the least were aged 65 and over (93.9% of users), which accounted for 51.9% of the total population of this age group, 5.8 percentage points more than the previous year. The following services also stood out: receiving or sending email (83.1%), reading news stories, newspapers or current affairs magazines (71.4%) and searching for information on goods and services (71.8%).

In the second quarter of 2022, Basque society saw figures return to pre-pandemic levels in the services most affected by COVID-19. The greatest increase compared to 2021 (+32.9 percentage points) was in the use of services related to travel and accommodation, a service used by 49.5% of the internet user population (+1.6 points in respect of the first quarter of 2020), particularly the user population aged between 25 and 34 (up 48.2 points). On the other hand, calls and video calls via the internet, used by 52.7% of the internet user population, was the service that saw the biggest decrease (-7.2 points).

60.7% of the internet user population used electronic administration and among the different services provided by the administrations, carrying out administrative procedures electronically (by submitting completed forms online) was the most frequently used (56.3%) and also the one that saw the highest rise in 2022 (+10.9 percentage points). As regards electronic banking, 1,144,500 people were estimated to have used it, 70.2% of the internet user population (+2.5 points compared to 2021).

47.6% of the Basque population (nearly 900,000 people) bought goods and services online in the last three months, 1.1 percentage points more than in 2021; this figure represented 55.1% of the internet user population.

There were differences in the online services used by men and women

Among the online services used, 61.6% of women used services related to health, such as searching for information on health issues (12.3 points more than men), 56.8% of women made telephone or video calls via the internet (8.3 percentage points more than men) and 59.5% of women participated on social networks (+6.3 points). Meanwhile, 29.5% of men played or downloaded games (+6.9 points), 70.1% watched more video sharing content (+4.1 points) and 58.3% of men listened to music (+3.5 points).

There were also differences by gender in terms of e-commerce: 76.3% of women bought clothes, footwear and accessories (17.6 percentage points more than men), 28.8% of women bought personal care and hygiene products (+9.5 points) and 29.9% bought tickets for cultural events (+7.3 points). Meanwhile, 25.9% of men purchased electronic equipment (14.3 points more than women), 22.7% purchased computer equipment (+13.3 points) and 13.3% of men purchased vehicles and spare parts (+9.5 points).

The proportion of the population that used a computer in the last three months was 67.7%. In this regard, men using computers represented 70.5% of the male population, compared to 65.2% of women, with the gender gap standing at 5.3 percentage points, 3.4 percentage points less than in 2021.

Family characteristics had an influence on ICT equipment in households

With regard to internet access, in the second quarter of 2022, 783,900 families (86.9%) had this service in their homes. Despite a decrease of 4,100 families compared to 2021 (-0.5 points), this represented an increase of 1.8 points in relation to the first quarter of 2020, the final months before the COVID-19 pandemic changed the daily lives of Basque families. In population terms, 91.3% of people aged 15 and over (1,724,600) were able to access the internet from home.

Moreover, 74.7% of households in the Basque Country had computers, which means that 81.3% of the population had a computer in their dwelling (+1.2 points compared to 2020). Mobile phones were present in 97.4% of households; 98.5% of the population aged 15 and over had access to one (+1.3 points in relation to 2020).

As regards households with audiovisual equipment, it should be noted that 52% had pay-TV, 3,700 fewer families than the previous year (-0.4 points), but a net increase of 9.5 points compared to 2020. In population terms, 57.6% of the population (6,700 fewer people) had this service at home.

Despite a reduction in the differences between the various types of family, they continued to be significant. The greatest differences were seen between families with children and others, especially compared to families made up of single individuals. Thus, 98% of families with children had internet access in the dwelling, almost 25 points more than in single member households (73.1%).

On the other hand, 92.6% of families with children had some type of computer in their dwelling, a difference of just less than 38 points compared to single member households (54.7%). Lastly, mobile phones had a more widespread presence and presented minor differences; they were present in almost all families with children (99.8%), followed by 97.6% of those made up of couples and 93.9% of single-member families.

For further information:

Eustat - Euskal Estatistika Erakundea / Basque Statistics Institute C/ Donostia-San Sebastián, 1 01010 Vitoria-Gasteiz Press Service: servicioprensa@eustat.eus Tel.: 945 01 75 62