More than 90% of Cyprus’s population uses the internet at least once a week, according to a special survey conducted by the Statistical Service between April and June 2024.

The survey, which included 1,838 households with at least one member aged 16–74 and 3,763 individuals within this age range, aimed to collect data on household access to selected Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), internet usage, e-government, e-commerce, the Internet of Things (IoT), and the environmental use of ICT.

The survey revealed that internet usage decreases with age. While 99.9% of individuals aged 16–24 use the internet regularly, this figure drops to 83.3% for those aged 55–74. Additionally, people with higher education levels are more frequent internet users (99.6%) compared to those with lower education levels (76.8%).

The most popular online activities in the first quarter of 2024 included:

• Messaging via platforms like Skype, Messenger, WhatsApp, and Viber (97.3%).

• Internet calls (97.2%).

• Searching for product or service information (94.3%).

• Participating in social networks such as Facebook and Twitter (91.8%).

• Watching videos on sharing platforms (91.3%).

The study also noted that 10.3% of internet users accessed online educational material, 10.0% attended online courses, and 9.7% communicated with educators or students using video or audio tools.

Between April 2023 and March 2024, 70.6% of individuals aged 16–74 received information from government services electronically. Additionally:

• 54.0% accessed information stored about them by public authorities.

• 22.8% accessed information from public databases or registers.

The percentage of individuals making online purchases during the first quarter of 2024 rose significantly to 63.6%, compared to 55.3% in the same period last year.

The most popular categories of products or services purchased online were:

• Clothing, including sportswear, footwear, or accessories (85.3%).

• Food and catering services, including restaurant or fast food delivery (78.8%).

• Computers, mobile phones, and accessories (53.4%).

• Cosmetics, beauty, or wellness products (33.4%).

Among those aged 16–74 who engaged in e-commerce, 46.5% booked accommodation services, 45.5% purchased transport services, and 33.2% bought tickets for events.