THE share of households with internet connection in Latvia reached 91.4 per cent in 2022, according to new data.
This means that internet access is up by 0.3 per cent compared to 2021 figures.
The new data comes from the annual survey on the use of information and communication technologies (ICT) in households carried out by the Central Statistical Bureau (CSP).
Places including Riga and Kurzeme see the biggest jump to 93.6 and 93.3 per cent of households respectively. This is followed by Pierīga (92.4), Vidzeme (91), and Zemgale (89.5).
The Latgale region shows the lowest percentage of internet access at 84.8, reports Baltic News Network.
The availability of the internet in uban areas has risen by 0.6 percent, whereas in rural areas there is a drop of 1.2 per cent.
The survey shows that education plays a big factor in internet usage – the largest share of regular internet users are those with higher education (97.6 per cent). Those with secondary education are at 87.4 per cent, and those with basic education 78.6 per cent.
The biggest group to be internet users are those between the ages of 16 and 24 years old, with 99.6 per cent using it on a regular basis.
Those who are aged between 25 and 54 years lag slightly behind at 96.8 per cent, while those aged 55 to 74 years see internet usage at 75.9 per cent.
Most of the population used the internet to purchase clothes, shoes, or accessories (56.3), fast food deliveries from restaurants (25.2), electrical equipment or household appliances (23.6), and cosmetics and beauty products (20).
More specifically the data showed that women purchased clothes, shoes, or accessories more often than men (69.7 and 39.3), respectively) and cosmetics, beauty products (29.4 and 8, respectively).
Meanwhile, men were more likely to purchase electrical equipment or household appliances than women (33.6 and 15.7, respectively), as well as computers, tablets, and mobile phones (25.1 and 10.5, respectively).
The annual survey was carried out in the first half of 2022 with the co-financing of European Union. The aim of the project is to acquire qualitative and internationally comparable statistical information on the use of ICT, and included 5,815 participants.
