Press releases and reports - Dynamics of Internet usage in Ukraine: May 2017

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Dynamics of Internet usage in Ukraine: May 2017

Press release by Natalia Kharchenko

In the spring of 2017 63% of the adult population of Ukraine were users of the Internet. The most popular is access to the Internet through a home-based stationary computer or laptop (54%), although today, 42% of the adult population in Ukraine, at least once a month, use the Internet on mobile devices (primarily on smartphones).

On May 19- 28. 2017 Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS) conducted an all-Ukrainian public opinion poll. Data were collected from 2040 respondents living in 108 settlements (PSU) in all oblasts of Ukraine (except for the AR of Crimea) with the method of personal interviewing. The sample was stochastic and is representative of the population of Ukraine aged 18 and above.

In Luhansk and Donetsk oblasts survey was conducted only in the territories that are controlled by the Ukrainian government. The statistical sampling error (with a probability of 0.95 and for a design effect of 1.5) does not exceed: 3.3% — for indexes close to 50%, 2.8% — for indexes close to 25%, 2.0% — for indexes close to 10%, 1.4% — for indexes close to 5%.

In May of 2017. 63.4% of the adult population of Ukraine were users of the Internet (graph 1). The growth in the number of Internet users has slowed down, and there are no significant differences compared with last year's data.

Graph 1. Share of the Internet users among the adult population of Ukraine

The main disparity factors in the distribution of the Internet in Ukraine remain unchanged – they are the age and type of settlement. As before, there is a reverse relation between the age and the use of the Internet - the younger the age, the higher the penetration of the Internet. It is correct to make a through time comparison since 2014. after we lost the opportunity to explore part of the population of Ukraine because of events in the AR of Crimea and in the Donbass. As we see (graph 2), over the past four years the number of Internet users has increased among all age groups younger than 60. The more active phase of this growth is for 2015-2016.

Graph 2. Share of the Internet users among different age groups

The imbalances in the penetration of the Internet in the settlements of the different size significantly smoothed over in the recent years (graph 3). At the moment, rural areas are far behind in the distribution of the Internet, its inhabitants more often refer to the restrictions on the technical connectivity of sparsely populated places.

Graph 3. Share of the Internet users among the population of different types of settlements

The most commonly used devices for the usage of the Internet are mobile phones (39%), home laptops (31%) and stationary computers (30%), see. graph 4 (the total percentage is over 100. since one person can use several devices). Today, 41.6% of the adult population in Ukraine use the Internet on mobile devices (mobile phones or tablets) at least once a month, while online access via home-based stationary computer or laptop is 54.4%, and still retains its advantage in use.

Graph 4. Places and devices to access the Internet

Commentary of V. Paniotto, CEO of KIIS

Comparison of data from various surveys on the percentage of Internet users among the population of Ukraine depends primarily on (1) the age limits for which the percentage is calculated, and (2) who is considered to be Internet users - those who use the Internet almost every day, several times a week , іeveral times for two weeks, etc. In this study, all percentages are calculated for the population of Ukraine aged 18 and older, and users are considered to be those who use the Internet at least sometimes.

Although the growth rate of the total number of Internet users has slowed down somewhat, the number of Internet users who access the Internet with the use of smartphones is substantially increasing.

Addition. Questions and tables

Do you use the Internet at home?
Yes	62.1
No	36.5
Do not know what is this	1.4
Total	100.0

Do you use the Internet outside of your home (in other places)?
Yes	38.2
No	58.8
No answer	3.0
Total	100.0

Use the Internet at home or in other places? (calculated)
Yes	63.4
Other answer	36.6
Total	100.0

Socio-demographic questions		The Internet usage
Socio-demographic questions		Not use	Use	Total
Gender	male	31.8%	68.2%	100%
Gender	female	40.6%	59.4%	100%
Age	18-29	5.8%	94.2%	100%
	30-39	10.2%	89.8%	100%
	40-49	26.7%	73.3%	100%
	50-59	44.7%	55.3%	100%
	60-69	71.0%	29.0%	100%
	70 and older	89.9%	10.1%	100%
Type and size of the settlement	Village	49.1%	50.9%	100%
	Settlement of the city type	52.4%	47.6%	100%
	Small town (up to 20k inhabitants)	34.2%	65.8%	100%
	Medium-sized town (20-49k)	27.1%	72.9%	100%
	City with 50-99 thousands of inhabitants	40.8%	59.2%	100%
	Big city (100-499k)	27.6%	72.4%	100%
	Very big city (more than 500k)	22.7%	77.3%	100%
Please take a look at the card and tell me which of the statements most closely corresponds to the financial situation of your family?	We do not have money even for food	66.2%	33.8%	100%
	We have money for food but buying clothes is troublesome	40.8%	59.2%	100%
	We have enough money for food and clothes, and we can save some, but that's not enough for buying expensive things (such as a TV or a fridge)	13.8%	86.2%	100%
	We can afford to buy some expensive things (such as a TV or a fridge)	12.2%	87.8%	100%
	We can afford to buy everything we want	,0%	100.0%	100%
	Difficult to say	13.0%	87.0%	100.0%

	What of the below did you personally use during the last month to access the Internet?MULTIPLE ANSWERS POSSIBLE	How often do you use the Internet via…?
	Yes	Every day or almost every day	Once or few times a week	Once or several times during the two weeks	One time or several times a month	Less than once a month	DIFFICULT TO SAY / DO NOT KNOW
Desktop computer at home	30.4	70.5%	20.8%	4.4%	2.3%	1.5%	0.6%
Laptop at home	30.5	73.2%	22.7%	2.6%	.7%	0.5%	.3%
Tablet	10.8	66%	21.9	5.8%	3.6%	0.9%	1.9%
Mobile phone (smartphone)	39.4	83.2%	14.4	0.9%	0.7%	0.4%	.4%
Desktop computer at work	11.5	77.9%	15.2%	3.1%	2.4%	0.9%	.5%
Desktop computer in the place of studying	1.6	18.8%	44.3%	19.2%	0	5.6%	12.1%
Desktop computer in the Internet-cafe	0.9	0%	50.6%	5.9%	3.6%	19.1%	20.8%
Desktop computer at someone`s place	2.1	24.7%	8.9%	30.3%	8.4%	19.7%	8%
TV with the Internet access	2.6	53.2%	23.8%	4.3%	1.6%	10.7%	6.5%
Other	0.1
DIFFICULT TO SAY/ DO NOT KNOW, DENIAL	0.2