Press release 30/10/2023

INFORMATION SOCIETY SURVEY. FAMILIES. 2023

88.3% of the population aged 15 and over in the Basque Country connected to the internet in 2023, 2 percentage points more than in the previous year

56.2% of households had pay-TV, 41,300 more 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 1,671,300 in the second quarter of 2023, accounting for 88.3% of the overall Basque population in this age group, according to Eustat data. This percentage was up 2 percentage points compared to the same period of 2022.

As in previous years, the internet user population increased the most among those aged 65 and over (+5.9 percentage points); more than half of the population in this group (61.2%) were internet users in 2023. Despite this, figures for this age range were far removed from the other age groups, all of which saw figures greater than 96%, particularly the under-54s, where nearly the entire population were internet users.

Men using the internet represented 89.3% of the male population, while women users accounted for 87.3% of the female population. The so-called gender gap stood at 2 percentage points in 2023, 0.4 points less than in 2022. 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 24,000 new internet users in the 65 and over age range.

As regards the provinces, Bizkaia became the province with the highest percentage of individual users (88.7%). Gipuzkoa was the province where the percentage of internet users grew the most and moved into second place with 88% of users, ahead of Álava, which saw the least growth and came in third place, with 87.6% of the population aged 15 and over using the internet.

With regard to the three Basque capitals, Bilbao became the capital with the highest proportion of the population using the internet (88.4% and +2.2 percentage points), overtaking Vitoria-Gasteiz, which fell from this position in 2022 to occupy second place in 2023 (87.6% and +0.8 points). San Sebastián took third place, despite experiencing the biggest increase in this regard (87.4% and +2.5 points). At the regional level, the differences in the percentage of users were around 5 percentage points between the highest value in Plentzia-Mungia (90.8%) and the lowest in Montaña alavesa (86%).

Internet use increased most among inactive and unemployed people

In relation to activity, practically the entire student population (99.9%) and employed population (99.1%) were internet users. On the other hand, despite being the group that displayed the greatest increase (4.3 points) compared to the second quarter of the previous year, the inactive and unemployed population (71.7%) stood far removed from the other two groups, with differences of more than 27 percentage points.

The preferred language for web browsing was Spanish (96.9%), followed by Basque (20.1%) and English (15.3%). Almost all users accessed the internet from the private home (98.7%).

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

The services used most by the online population were those for communication and access to information. WhatsApp and other similar instant messaging applications were the most widely used, as 97.3% of people online used them. The majority of the online population used them (with percentages above 95%), irrespective of their socio-demographic characteristics (age, sex, occupation). In terms of age, the people who used these apps the least were aged 65 and over, 95.3% of users, which accounted for 58.3% of the total population of this age group (6.4 percentage points more than the previous year). Other communication and information access services that stood out included: receiving or sending email (85.2%), reading news stories, newspapers or current affairs magazines (75.9%) and searching for information on goods and services (84%).

Specifically, searching for information on goods and services saw the greatest increase (+12.2 percentage points) in 2023 compared to 2022. By contrast, the service that registered the biggest decrease was the use of learning materials, used by 15.1% of the online population (-6.9 points).

62.3% 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 (58.7%), although it recorded the lowest rise in 2023 (+2.4 percentage points). As regards electronic banking, 1,191,600 people were estimated to have used it, 71.3% of the internet user population (+1.1 points compared to 2022).

More than 900,000 people, 48.4% of the Basque population, bought goods and services online in the last three months (0.9 percentage points more than in 2022); this figure represented 54.9% of the internet user population. Almost all online consumers purchased a physical product (92.9%), such as clothes, shoes or accessories (67.4%) or household goods (32.4%). More than half paid for a service (58%), such as accommodation (36.8%), tickets to cultural events (32.5%) or transport services (29.6%). Whether in physical or downloadable format, 17.3% of the online consumer population bought publications such as books, magazines or newspapers.

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

Among the services offered online, 65.4% of women used services related to health, such as searching for information on health issues (11.3 points more than men using the internet), 60.8% of women participated on social networks (+5.6 points) and 54.1% of women made telephone or video calls via the internet (3.7 percentage points more than men). Meanwhile, 70.1% of men watched video sharing content (+4.3 points more than women users), 65.9% of men listened to music (+5.9 points) and 29.2% played or downloaded games (6.2 percentage points more than women).

There were also differences by gender in terms of e-commerce: 34.3% of women bought personal care and hygiene products (16.9 percentage points more than men), 75.6% of women bought clothes, footwear and accessories (16.8 percentage points more) and 34.8% bought tickets for cultural events (+4.7 points). Meanwhile, 25.6% of men purchased electronic equipment (12.6 points more than women), 14% purchased vehicles and spare parts (+11 points) and 20.2% of men purchased sports equipment (except clothes and footwear) (+7.8 points).

The proportion of the population that used a computer in the last three months was 69%. In this regard, men using computers represented 72% of the male population, compared to 66.3% of women, with the gender gap standing at 5.7 percentage points, 0.4 percentage points more than in 2022.

Family characteristics had an influence on ICT equipment in households

In the second quarter of 2023, 819,700 families had internet access in their homes (90.2%), 35,800 families more than in 2022 (+3.3 points). In population terms, 93.9% of people aged 15 and over (1,777,500) were able to access the internet from home.

Moreover, 75.7% of households in the Basque Country had computers, which means that 82.6% of the population had a computer in their dwelling (+1.3 points compared to 2022). Mobile phones were present in 97.6% of households; 98.6% of the population aged 15 and over had access to one (+0.1 points in relation to 2021).

As regards households with audiovisual equipment, it should be noted that 56.2% had pay-TV, 41,300 families more than the previous year (+4.2 points). In population terms, 62.5% of the population (95,500 more 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, 99.5% of families with children had internet access in the dwelling, almost 20.2 points more than in single member households (79.3%).

On the other hand, 93.6% of families with children had some type of computer in their dwelling, a difference of just over 38 points compared to single member households (54.9%). Lastly, mobile phones had a more widespread presence and presented minor differences; they were present in almost all families with children (99.9%), followed by 98.2% of those made up of couples and 94% 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