Over 50% Of UK Adults Use Internet

Over half of the UK adult population, 23 million people, accessed the internet in the last year according to the latest quarterly figures from the July 2001 Office of National Statistics’ Omnibus Survey.

The survey also found that the number of UK households with internet access has quadrupled in the last three years. 38% of UK households are now connected to the web, which amounts to 9.4 million households across the country.

Of the 23 million people that logged on to the internet in the past year just under 80% had done so in the month prior to the survey.

As found in previous surveys men were more likely to have used the internet than women. 56% of men had surfed the web in the last year, compared with 47% of women. However, the gap between them dropped from 13% in July 2000 to 9% in July 2001.

Young people were shown to be more likely to use the web, with 88% of those aged 16-24 logging on in the last year, compared to 11% of those aged 65 and over.

According to the survey, computers remain the preferred method of accessing the internet, with 98% of adults logging on via their PC. 8% of adults used wap phones to surf the net, while those using digital TV remained steady at around 6%.

The home continued to be the most popular place from which to surf with 78% of respondents logging on at home, followed by the workplace (36%) and another person’s home (33%).

The key reason for not using the internet was found to be lack of interest. 42% of those who had never logged on said they had no desire to. 26% of respondents had no means of access to the web and 16% said they didn’t have the confidence of skills to use the net.

Office of National Statistics: 020 7533 5888 www.statistics.gov.uk

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