Internet use

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Last updated 2 March 2018 - see all updates

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1. Main facts and figures

  • overall, 89% of people had used the internet in 3 months prior to being surveyed – the White group had the lowest percentage of recent internet users (88%) and people from the Other ethnic group (including those with Mixed ethnicity) had the highest (95%)

  • for the regions, countries and ethnic groups for which we have reliable findings, no important differences in internet use were found, either between regions or between ethnic groups

  • among adults across all age groups between 16 and 54, there were broadly similar percentages of internet use in all ethnic groups (all were over 90%), with some differences emerging between ethnic groups for adults aged 55 and over

  • internet use was related to the age profile of different ethnic groups (for example, there are more older people in the White group than in other ethnic groups, and for this reason a smaller percentage of this group were recent internet users)

Things you need to know

Results have been excluded (‘suppressed’) for ethnic groups, age groups, regions and countries for which sample sizes were too small to generate meaningful results.

For example, there were only 20 respondents aged 75 or older in the Other/Mixed/Multiple group, too small a sample to produce a reliable estimate. The results for this age group were therefore excluded.

Even where results are given, the estimates of internet use for ethnic groups by region and by age are based on smaller sample sizes than the estimates for the UK population as a whole. For this reason, they are not reliable enough to draw firm conclusions.

The Office for National Statistics publishes the annual Internet access – households and individuals, which provides more information than the Labour Force Survey on the range of activities carried out on the internet. However, its estimates are less reliable because they are derived from the Opinion and Lifestyle Survey, which has a much smaller size than the Labour Force Survey. For this reason, you should avoid making comparisons between the two.

What the data measures

This data measures the percentage of people aged 16 years or older in the UK who are recent internet users.

Respondents are categorised as ‘recent’ if they have used the internet in the last 3 months.

The data comes from the Labour Force Survey, part of which asks respondents about their internet use.

The ethnic categories used in this data

Although more detailed data exists for internet use analysed by ethnicity, results are variable and are not broken down further by age or region. Therefore, the data is categorised into the following 4 broad groups:

  • Asian
  • Black/African/Caribbean/Black British
  • White (including White ethnic minorities)
  • Other/Mixed

2. Internet use by ethnicity

Percentage and number of people who had used the internet in the past 3 months by ethnicity
Ethnicity % No. of people (thousands)
All 89 46,714
Asian 91 3,006
Black 92 1,394
White 88 40,885
Other including Mixed 95 1,429

Download table data for ‘Internet use by ethnicity’ (CSV) Source data for ‘Internet use by ethnicity’ (CSV)

Summary of Internet use Internet use by ethnicity Summary

This data shows that:

  • 95% of people in the Other/Mixed ethnic group were recent internet users, the highest percentage of any ethnic group

  • 88% of people in the White ethnic group were recent internet users, the lowest percentage of any ethnic group

3. Internet use by ethnicity and area

Percentage and number of people who had used the internet in the past 3 months by ethnicity and area
All Asian Black Other including Mixed White
Region or country All % All No. of people (thousands) Asian % Asian No. of people (thousands) Black % Black No. of people (thousands) Other inc. Mixed % Other inc. Mixed No. of people (thousands) White % White No. of people (thousands)
UK 89 46,714 91 3,006 92 1,394 95 1,429 88 40,885
North East 85 1,817 withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable 85 1,752
North West 88 5,071 90 269 88 96 withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable 88 4,589
Yorkshire and the Humber 87 3,765 88 224 withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable 86 3,395
East Midlands 88 3,326 88 188 91 68 withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable 88 3,003
West Midlands 86 3,974 87 409 89 140 92 128 86 3,298
East of England 90 4,427 95 192 96 96 withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable 90 4,037
London 93 6,497 92 1,186 93 744 94 598 93 3,969
South East 92 6,593 95 278 withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable 91 6,056
South West 89 3,986 withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable 70 29 withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable 89 3,817
Wales 87 2,188 withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable 87 2,100
Scotland 88 3,845 93 97 withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable 87 3,668
Northern Ireland 84 1,223 withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable 84 1,201

Download table data for ‘Internet use by ethnicity and area’ (CSV) Source data for ‘Internet use by ethnicity and area’ (CSV)

Summary of Internet use Internet use by ethnicity and area Summary

This data shows that:

  • in the UK as a whole, recent internet users made up between 88% and 95% of every ethnic group

  • within London and within the West Midlands (where the results were reliable for all ethnic groups), recent internet use was broadly similar for all ethnicities

  • for some ethnic groups, regions and countries (particularly Northern Ireland, Wales and the North East) sample sizes were too small to draw firm conclusions

4. Internet use by ethnicity and age group

Percentage and number of people who had used the internet in the past 3 months by ethnicity and age group
All Asian Black White Other including Mixed
Age group All % All No. of people (thousands) Asian % Asian No. of people (thousands) Black % Black No. of people (thousands) White % White No. of people (thousands) Other inc. Mixed % Other inc. Mixed No. of people (thousands)
16-24 99 7,033 99 604 99 291 99 5,792 99 346
25-34 99 8,809 99 799 97 275 99 7,324 98 412
35-44 98 8,110 97 762 98 312 99 6,711 99 325
45-54 96 8,800 93 490 97 315 96 7,802 95 194
55-64 90 6,882 73 229 88 150 91 6,400 89 102
65-74 78 5,028 62 95 56 28 78 4,869 withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable
75+ 41 2,050 29 26 31 24 41 1,987 withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable

Download table data for ‘Internet use by ethnicity and age group’ (CSV) Source data for ‘Internet use by ethnicity and age group’ (CSV)

Summary of Internet use Internet use by ethnicity and age group Summary

This data shows that:

  • within every ethnic group, 99% of people aged 16 to 24 years were recent internet users

  • in every ethnic group, over 90% of people aged between 16 and 54 years were recent internet users

  • although, overall, White people were less likely than other ethnic groups to have recently used the internet, this was not the case for older people: among adults aged 65 to 74, the White ethnic group had a larger proportion of internet users than the Black and Asian ethnic groups

5. Methodology

The estimates are derived from the LFS from the period January to March 2017, and are not seasonally adjusted.

The sample used for this data is made up of approximately 40,000 UK households and 100,000 individuals per quarter. The sampling frame used is the Postcode Address File and NHS communal accommodation.

The Labour Force Survey uses calibration weighting. Weighting is used to adjust the results of a survey to make them representative of the population and improve their accuracy.

For example, a survey which contains 25% women and 75% men will not accurately reflect the views of the general population, which we know has an even 50/50 split.

Statisticians rebalance or ‘weight’ the survey results to more accurately represent the general population. This helps to make them more reliable.

Survey weights are usually applied to make sure the survey sample has broadly the same gender, age, ethnic and geographic make up as the general population. The weights here are formed using a population weighting procedure which involves weighting data to sub-regional population estimates and then adjusting for the estimated age and sex composition by region.

Estimation to population totals and projections are based on the 2011 Census.

Suppression rules and disclosure control

Some data has been suppressed to ensure that estimates are robust and confidence intervals are reliable. For example, data was suppressed in groups with small sample sizes, because it is not possible to produce robust estimates with small sample sizes.

The reliability formula test was also applied to check the reliability of the data and confidence intervals. For example, in the 75+ age group in the Other/Mixed/Multiple group, the sample size was only 20, which is too small to produce a reliable estimate. The results for this age group were therefore suppressed. Statistical disclosure control methodology is applied to the Labour Force Survey data (the source for this data). This ensures that information attributable to an individual is not disclosed in any publication, and that confidentiality of respondents is protected in data sets.

As an example, the results for the 65 to74 group in the Other/Mixed/Multiple ethnic group were suppressed (it had a fairly small sample of 72). This was done to ensure that the results for the 75+ group in the Other/Mixed/Multiple ethnic group could not be worked out by deduction.

The Code of Practice for Official Statistics, and specifically Principle 5, Confidentiality, sets out the principles for protecting data from being disclosed. The Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007 includes data confidentiality regulations which apply to Office of National Statistics (ONS). More information about disclosure control on data tables and data sets is available on the ONS website.

Rounding

We round numbers, and for this reason some figures may not add up.

Related publications

Internet access – households and individuals

Quality and methodology information

Further technical information

Further quality and methodology information, user guides and example questionnaires can be accessed on the ONS website

6. Data sources

Source

Type of data

Survey data

Type of statistic

National Statistics

Publisher

Office for National Statistics

Publication frequency

Yearly

Purpose of data source

The primary purpose of the Labour Force Survey (LFS) is to provide good quality estimates each year for various aspects of the labour market, including internet use. The LFS also allows to see how these labour market measures change over time.

7. Download the data