Press release 28/10/2025

INFORMATION SOCIETY SURVEY. FAMILIES. 2025

89.7% of the population aged 15 and over in the Basque Country connected to the internet in 2025

Nearly the entire population aged 15-54 were internet users, and this figure stood at 66.5% among people aged 65 and over

The number of internet users aged 15 and over in the Basque Country, i.e. 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 1,735,500 in the second quarter of 2025, accounting for 89.7% of the overall Basque population in this age group, according to Eustat data. This percentage was down 0.2 percentage points compared to the same period of 2024.

As in previous years, in 2025, the online population increased the most among those aged 65 and over (+1.5 percentage points), reaching 66.5%. Despite this, figures for this age range were far below those for the 55-64 age group (97.3%) and, in particular, the under-54 age groups, where nearly the entire population were internet users.

Men using the internet represented 90.6% of the male population, while women users accounted for 88.8% of the female population. The so-called gender gap stood at 1.8 percentage points in 2025, 0.4 points lower than in 2024. It is worth noting that there were 14,000 new internet users in the 65 and over age range.

Álava was the province with the highest percentage of internet users (91.2%), up 1.2 percentage points on 2024, followed by Bizkaia with 89.5% and a drop of 0.4 percentage points and, lastly, Gipuzkoa with 89.3% and half a percentage point less.

As regards the three Basque provincial capitals, the situation was similar to the previous year. Vitoria-Gasteiz was the capital with the highest proportion of the population using the internet (91%), 1.7 percentage points higher than the figure for Bilbao (89.3%) and 2.4 percentage points higher than that for San Sebastián (88.6%). At regional level, there was a difference of as much as 3.2 percentage points between the region with the highest percentage of the population who used the internet (Estribaciones del Gorbea with 92.1%) and those with the lowest percentage: Markina-Ondarroa, Alto Deba and Bajo Deba (88.9%).

Internet use increased among employed people

In relation to activity, we can see that internet use was widespread among the student population and employed population, standing at 99.5% in both cases. On the other hand, the group comprising the inactive and unemployed population recorded a lower percentage of internet use of 74.3%. This group also registered the sharpest drop compared to 2024, with a decrease of 1 percentage point.

The preferred language for web browsing was Spanish (97.1%), followed by Basque (21%) and English (16.9%). Almost all users accessed the internet from home (98.6%).

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

Nearly the entire online population used services to communicate and access information (99.8%). Instant messaging applications, such as WhatsApp, were the most widely used by internet users (97.5%). These types of tools were used by the majority of the online population (with percentages above 95%), irrespective of age, sex or employment status. The people who used these applications the least were those aged 65 and over, with 95% of the online population in that age group using them. This percentage was equivalent to 63.1% of the total population over 65, representing an increase of 0.8 percentage points compared to the previous year.

Other communication and information access services that stood out included: searching for information on goods and services (84.9%), receiving or sending email (83.80%), and reading news stories, newspapers or current affairs magazines (80%).

Entertainment and creativity services were used by 87.4% of users, with particularly high usage among younger people: almost all users aged 25-34 (98.7%) used these types of services, followed by those aged 15-24 (98.4%), who particularly stood out for their use of these services to listen to music (91.4%). The largest increase among these services was in watching television programmes online, up 3.8 percentage points on 2024. By contrast, the service that registered the biggest decrease was watching films or videos on demand, used by 58.3% of the online population (-4.6 points).

The use of social networks is widespread among the internet-using population of the Basque Country aged 15 and over (95.3%), with a very high adoption rate among the population aged 15 to 64, at 97.8%, but it decreases to 85.8% in the 65 and older age group. However, differences can be observed among social network users according to age. In addition to WhatsApp, the most used across all age groups, surpassing 97%, Instagram stands out among the younger population (87.7%), but its use drops drastically among those over 65 years old (12.3%). Facebook is more popular in middle age groups (33.4% and 34.7%), losing relevance among both young and older populations. TikTok is clearly youthful (58.8% in the 15 to 24 age group) and has little presence among older people. YouTube maintains significant presence in all groups, although it declines with age.

61.7% of the online population used electronic administration and the most frequently used service among those provided by the administrations was obtaining information (57.9%). It is estimated that 1,301,100 people used online banking (75% of users, +0.9 points), approximately 24,700 more than in 2024.

More than 976,400 people bought goods and services online in the last three months, representing 50.5% of the Basque population aged 15 and over (0.5 percentage points less than in 2024) and 56.3% of the online population. Almost all online consumers purchased a physical product (94.4%), such as clothes, shoes or accessories (70.6%) or household goods (34.9%). More than half paid for a service (56.9%), such as accommodation (35.4%), tickets to cultural events (33.4%) or transport services (29%). Whether in physical or downloadable format, 18.8% 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, 70.6% of women used services related to health, such as searching for information on health issues (12.7 percentage points more than men using the internet), 59.9% of women participated on social networks (4 points more than men) and 56.5% of women used services related to travel and accommodation (+3.3 points). Meanwhile, 82.6% of men read news stories, newspapers or current affairs magazines (+5.1 percentage points more than women), 70.6% watched video sharing content (+7.1 points more than women users) and 35% of men played or downloaded games (+6.7 points).

There were also differences by gender in terms of e-commerce: 78.3% of women bought clothes, footwear and accessories (+15.8 percentage points more than men), 38.2% of women bought personal care and hygiene products (13.9 percentage points more) and 36.3% bought tickets for cultural events (+5.8 points). Meanwhile, 26.4% of men purchased sports equipment (except clothes and footwear) (+9.9 points), 19.8% purchased electronic equipment (12.1 points more than women) and 14% purchased vehicles and spare parts (+10.9 points).

The proportion of the population that used a computer in the last three months was 69.3%. In this regard, men using computers represented 72.2% of the male population, compared to 66.7% of women, with the gender gap standing at 5.4 percentage points, 0.1 percentage points more than in 2024.

Family characteristics had an influence on ICT equipment in households

In the second quarter of 2025, 92.1% of homes had internet access, 0.9 percentage points more than in 2024. In population terms, 95.3% of people aged 15 and over (1,844,700 people) were able to access the internet from home.

Moreover, 76.1% of households in the Basque Country had computers, which means that 82.8% of the population had a computer in their dwelling (-1.1 points compared to 2024). Mobile phones were present in 98.8% of households; 99.4% of the population aged 15 and over had access to one (+0.3 points in relation to 2024).

As regards households with audiovisual equipment, it should be noted that 62.1% had pay-TV, 3.1 percentage points more than the previous year (31,800 more families). In population terms, 68.5% of the population (86,500 more people) had this service at home.

With regard to household equipment according to the type of family, the differences continued to be significant. The greatest differences were seen between families with children and other families, especially those made up of single individuals. Thus, 99.5% of families with children had internet access in the dwelling, 17 percentage points more than single-member households (82.5%).

In addition, 92.9% of families with children had some type of computer at home, a difference of 34.8 points compared to single-member households (58.1%). 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 99.5% of those made up of couples and 96.8% 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