The number of individuals who regularly make use of the internet reached 258,415 or 77.3% of the total population aged between 16 and 74 last year, according to the National Statistics Office.

The NSO said that the highest share of internet use was registered within the 16 to 24 age cohort (98.1%) while individuals aged 65 to 74 recorded the lowest internet usage level (37.9%).

Higher levels of internet usage (2.1 percentage points) on mobile phones were recorded when compared to 2015 levels. According to survey results, 75.8% of internet users accessed the internet away from home or work using either phone network or a wifi connection on their mobile phone.

Results show that the internet is mostly used for communication purposes (95.1%) and to access information (91.8%) (Chart 1).

Last year, 95% of mobile internet users accessed the internet via a wifi connection. A total 80.9% of mobile internet users accessed the internet via a 3G or 4G connection.

e-Government services

e-Government users, amounted to 56.7% of internet users, showing an increase of two percentage points over the previous year. Usage of e-Government services mainly increased (6.2 percentage points) among persons aged between 25 and 34.

Cloud computing

In 2016, 35.6% of internet users made use of cloud computing services - a decrease of 3.8 percentage points when compared with 2015 levels. The use of cloud computing was most common among individuals aged between 25 and 34, showing an increase of 4.9 percentage points over the previous year.

e-Commerce

Over 60 per cent of individuals who used the internet three months prior to the surveying period purchased goods or services online in the previous year. Similar to 2015, the most common goods or services acquired online were clothes, sports goods, holiday accommodation and other transport.