ICT usage in households and by individuals 2020
Six in ten people search for health-related information online
Statistical news from Statistics Sweden 2020-11-18 9.30
Nine in ten people aged 16–85 years use the internet essentially every day. A common use is to search for health-related information on injuries, illnesses, life style, or diet.
Among women, 68 percent search online for health-related information on injuries, illnesses, life style, or diet. The corresponding proportion among men is 60 percent. Mainly people aged 25–54 years search for health-related information, and among this group, over 70 percent do so.
It is also common to schedule doctor or dentist appointments, read your medical records, or purchase medicine/nutritional supplements/vitamins via the internet. One in four persons book appointments with doctors or dentists via the internet. This is equally common among women and men.
The collection period for this survey was between April and June 2020. The reference period refers to the last three months before the time the survey was answered.
E-Commerce increased among older people
Compared with 2015, the proportion of people aged 16–85 years who made online purchases increased from 53 percent to 69 percent. In the oldest age groups, the proportion of people who stated that they had made online purchases/orders of goods or services increased in the past year. Compared with 2019, the proportion of people who made online purchases increased from 40 percent to 47 percent among 65–75 year-olds, and from 16 percent to 26 percent among 75–85 year-olds.
The collection period for this survey is between April and June every year. The reference period refers to the last three months before the time the survey was answered.
Just under seven in ten people aged 16–85 years purchased or ordered a good or service online in the last three months before the time the survey was answered, and almost one in three purchased medicine online. It was more common among women to purchase medicine/nutritional supplements/vitamins via the internet, at 32 percent, compared with 22 percent among men.
E-Commerce is less common mainly in the older surveyed age groups, 65–74 years and 75–85 years. In the age group 25–44 years, just under four in ten purchased medicine online, compared with two in ten in the age group 65–74 years, and one in ten in the age group 75–85 years.
The collection period for this survey was between April and June 2020. The reference period refers to the last three months before the time the survey was answered.
Two in ten persons aged 75–85 years have never used the internet
Internet use differs among persons of various ages. In general, younger persons use the internet most frequently. The older age groups stand out most; they have less access to the internet and use the internet less frequently. There are still those who state that they have never used the internet. Among the population aged 65–74 years, 6 percent state that they have never used the internet. In the oldest age group, the corresponding proportion is 23 percent.
The collection period for this survey was between April and June 2020. The reference period refers to the last three months before the time the survey was answered.
Definitions and explanations
These statistics are based on the survey “ICT usage in households and by individuals” that forms part of Sweden’s official statistics. The survey includes around 150 questions on access to usage of information technology. All statistics presented here, and much more, can be retrieved from the Statistical Database on Statistics Sweden’s website.
The results from this survey will also be presented in a report that is scheduled for publication in 18 November 2020.
For questions on how these statistics were produced and a description of the quality, we refer to the documentation “Statistikens framställning” (2020) and “Kvalitetsdeklaration” (2020) available on Statistics Sweden’s website. For help with explanations of the results, producing documents or similar, you are welcome to contact us.
ICT usage in households and by individuals
As from 2014, Statistics Sweden has added the age group 74 to 85 years to the sample; for older historical comparisons, this total should be used. In the EU cooperation and in the statistics published on Eurostat’s website, the age group 16–74 years is used.
Statistical Database
More information is available in the Statistical Database
Feel free to use the facts from this statistical news but remember to state Source: Statistics Sweden.