79,580 personal e-mail addresses

About 31 per cent of households have access to the internet, according to a comprehensive survey carried out by the National Statistics Office last summer.

The highest penetration rates are in the northern district (36.9 per cent) and among the Lm8,001-Lm10,000 income group (67.5 per cent).

The northern district includes Gharghur, Mosta, Naxxar, Mellieha and St Paul's Bay.

The survey, on information and communications technology usage in households, targeted persons aged 15 years and over, randomly selected from each household.

It was found that access and equipment costs are not the main reasons for not being online at home (only 3.4 per cent cited these reasons). The majority of interviewees (58.8 per cent) indicated that they did not consider internet content to be useful, or necessary, while 21.6 per cent pointed to a lack of confidence and skills.

Almost 10,000 people have a personal website, and 39 per cent of website owners have a post-secondary education, while only 15 per cent have a tertiary education.

The number of persons with a personal e-mail address is estimated at 79,580, the highest number being in the 35-54 age group (27 per cent).

The survey shows that 27 per cent of the population used the internet during the reference period (the second quarter of 2002). The 15-24 and the 35-54 age groups were the most frequent users, with 33 per cent each, while only seven per cent of the 55 and over age group used the Net.

The number of employed internet users was 68 per cent, and 79 per cent of the student population used the internet.

Fifty-six per cent spent between one and five hours a week on the Net, while six per cent spent over 30 hours.

The main reason for using the internet was to send and receive e-mails (90.5 per cent), while finding information on goods and services was the second most popular reason (66.5 per cent). Selling goods and services was the least popular reason (4.2 per cent).

The trend of buying items online is still relatively new in Malta, with just 19.7 per cent of internet users indicating that they had bought goods or services over the internet.

The male population is much more inclined to buy products over the internet, and books and magazines are the most common purchases (35 per cent of users). Food and groceries only amount to 1.2 per cent, while lotteries and betting are negligible.

As regards availability of household technology, the survey shows that 38 per cent have access to a PC, while 75 per cent have a mobile telephone.

About 31 per cent of the population has attended some form of basic computer training and, out of these, 46 per cent have a secondary level of education.

Computer usage has been estimated at 34 per cent of the population aged 15 years and over, while 15 per cent use their computers every day at work.

Regional distribution again shows that the northern district has the highest level of computer usage - 45 per cent of its population.

The data for the survey was obtained through face-to-face interviews and the global response rate was 1,149 persons (76.6 per cent of the initial surveyed sample), the NSO said.

The report on ICT Usage in Households 2002 is available on the NSO website and is for sale at the Library & Information Unit.

www.nso.gov.mt