Thirty per cent of Maltese have never used the internet despite significant efforts to turn the country into an ICT hub – “the smart island”.
About 125,000 individuals have never encountered the internet at home, at work or anywhere else, according to 2011 Eurostat figures recently quoted by the Malta Communications Authority.
By comparison, the EU average for people who have never used the internet is 24 per cent.
Although Malta is the ninth most internet illiterate country in the EU27, the island has made huge steps ahead over the past few years to narrow the difference with the rest of the EU. Back in 2005, 57 per cent of the Maltese had never used the internet, compared to the EU’s then average of 43 per cent. While Malta has shifted 27 percentage points till then, the EU’s average has only fallen by 19 percentage points.
This has partly been helped by the government’s investment in ICT, including locality-based projects, which have ensured that 75 per cent of families are connected to broadband, compared to the EU average of 68 per cent.
But the figures about internet use, quoted recently during a seminar by the Temi Zammit Foundation, paint an interesting picture of the “digital divide” in Malta.
Internet use among younger generations is stronger than the EU average but usage for over-40s is still significantly weaker. All but a few (97 per cent) of 16-24 year olds use the internet at least once a week, compared to the EU27 average of 90 per cent.
However, the gap is inverted and significantly widened when it comes to those over 40, with the Maltese lagging behind their European counterparts.
For instance, only 47 per cent of people aged between 45 and 54 use the internet at least once a week, compared to the EU average of 64 per cent.
The MCA says there are 113,000 people between the ages of 45 and 64 who do not use the internet, causing difficulties when it comes to employment.
Meanwhile, 30,000 people over the age of 65 also did not use the internet, making it impossible for them to access eHealth services, the MCA said.