Information Society in Figures 2011
Today the Czech Statistical Office (CZSO) has released the publication of “Information Society in Figures 2011” on its website.
The publication objective is to provide the professional as well as lay public with a fundamental overview on the state and trends in the ICT penetration and the way of its use in households, companies, public administration, health care, and in other areas of the society, both in the Czech Republic and in countries of the European Union.
Data given in the publication come mostly from official surveys carried out by the CZSO and, furthermore, from statistics of the Czech Telecommunication Office, Institute of Health Information and Statistics of the Czech Republic, and the Institute for Information on Education. International data originate from data sources of Eurostat and the OECD.
The publication of “Information Society in Figures 2011” in the electronic version is available for download at a webpage:
http://www.czso.cz/csu/czso/information-society-in-figures-2011-q1nj32sg9w
Selected findings given in the publication:
- The number of fixed telephone lines in the Czech Republic has been permanently decreasing and at the end of 2009 there were already mere 2.1 million fixed lines compared to 3.7 million ten years ago. Thus in 2009 the number of fixed telephone lines per 100 inhabitants in the Czech Republic was the lowest, along with Slovakia, of all the EU countries. This drop can be accounted to, first of all, household lines. If in 2005 the numbers of minutes called in the fixed network and in the mobile ones were approximately the same, four years later, the number of minutes called from mobile phones outnumbered 5.5 times that of calls carried out by means of fixed phone lines.
- At the end of 2009 95% of the Czech households possessed a mobile phone while the fixed phone line was owned by mere 28% households. Ten years ago this ratio was exactly the opposite: 77% households had the fixed phone line yet solely 7% of them had a mobile phone. In 2009 there were mere 2% households in the Czech Republic, which possessed neither the fixed phone line nor a mobile phone.
- Since 2005 the number of high-speed Internet connections has increased more than three times. At the end of 2009 their number accounted for 2.4 million compared to approx. 700 thousand in 2005. When focused on the composition of high-speed connections according to applied technology, the Czech Republic has maintained a very specific position within the European Union. Even though the technology most often used for the high-speed Internet connection in the Czech Republic is the ADSL line, at the end of 2009 there were 778 thousand of such connections in operation (34% of all high-speed Internet connections), compared to other Member States of the EU this was still the lowest share at all. On the contrary, in the Czech Republic Wi-Fi connections or connections provided over mobile operators’ networks belong to technologies used a lot for the “fixed” high-speed Internet connection.
- Over ten years the number of Czech households having a computer at home increased four times. In 2010 there were almost 2.5 million (59%) households registered, which had a personal computer or a notebook at their disposal. Almost every fifth household had two and more computers. A notebook was in use in one fourth of households, in 2009 this was one fifth of households.
- In 2010 56% Czech households had an Internet connection, i.e. three times more than in 2005. Nevertheless, the Czech Republic has been still significantly falling behind in the share of households with an Internet connection compared to the EU27 average, which in 2010 reached 70% and, for instance, in Finland or in the Netherlands 9 of 10 households had an Internet connection. There are huge differences in the Internet access among respective groups of households. While 80% households with children had already the Internet, it was solely 47% of those without children. In households of various income groups the differences are even more significant because 89% households of the highest income level were connected while it was mere 19% of those having the lowest income.
- In the last five years an essential change has happened in the method of the Internet connection in the Czech households. In 2006 the low-speed dial-up connection over a telephone line was still dominating the Czech households; it was in use in over one third (35%) of households having the Internet. In 2010 it was common households were connected via a high-speed Internet connection. This type of connection was used by 9 of 10 households having the Internet, but, by contrast to the other EU countries, the most frequent connection in the Czech Republic was implemented by means of wireless technologies (WiFi). In the second quarter of 2010 almost one million households were using WiFi for the Internet connection in the Czech Republic.
- In 2010 the Internet was utilised by almost 5.5 million individuals in the age group 16+ years (62% of the adult population), that is almost twice as much as five years ago. Every third Czech citizen uses the Internet daily. At present the Czech population gets connected to the Internet most often at home; at work the Internet is used by 44% employees. The same way as in the past years it was confirmed again that men (66%) use the Internet more often than women (58%). It is used more often by younger people (92% individuals at the age of 16–24 years) than by older ones (19% individuals at the age of 64–74 years), or by individuals with higher education (88% with higher professional and university education) than with lower one (15% with basic education). These differences are, however, becoming smaller as the number of persons using the Internet is growing.
- The activities most frequently carried out by individuals on the Internet are the sending/receiving of e-mails (55%), searching for information on goods and services (50%), reading of on-line news, newspapers, and journals and magazines (41%), or the Internet banking (21%). In 2010 it was already every fourth of us who purchased some product (good or service) over the Internet compared to one in twenty in 2005. Similar numbers also hold for telephoning over the Internet. Over one third of the young aged 16–24 years claimed that in 2010 they used the Internet, at least from time to time, for watching television and slightly less than one half of them listened to the on-line radio stations.
- In 2010 information on children using the Internet at home was also surveyed, including how parents limit their children in the Internet usage. The survey results demonstrate that 84% children aged 10–15 years were using the Internet at home and 51% children were using the Internet everyday or almost every day. While the percentage of children, who spent 20 and more hours on the Internet at home in complete families is around 4%, then in incomplete families it is 13%. Majority of parents, whose children use the Internet at home, stated they monitor what their offspring perform on the Internet. There are 90% of such parents and 54% parents of child users of the Internet even limit the movement of their children on the Internet in some way.
- The share of enterprises, which have ten and more employees and which have access to the Internet, has not changed significantly and has been falling around 95% in the last five years. Over the years, however, the speed of the Internet connection, which the enterprises utilise, has been changing in a significant manner. If in January 2006 solely 18% enterprises using the Internet stated that the maximum speed of their connection is higher than 2 Mb/s, in January 2010 this percentage was already 86%. Activities, which the enterprises utilise the Internet for, are, for instance, the Internet banking (87%), telephoning over the Internet (21%), and employee training (15%).
- In January 2010 there was only one enterprise in four in the Czech Republic not having its own webpage yet on the European average one in three enterprises was still not presented by means of webpages. Slightly below one third of enterprises had also a foreign language version of their webpages, besides the Czech language one. In one quarter of cases the customers could order or book their products by means of webpages of enterprises in the Czech Republic. On the contrary, enterprises in the Czech Republic very rarely enabled to make payment on-line (3.4%) or to monitor the order status (4.7%).
- The value of electronic purchases implemented by means of orders placed over computer networks has been growing in recent years. While in 2002 electronic purchases of enterprises in the Czech Republic accounted for mere 4% of the total enterprise purchase volume, then in 2009 they represented almost one fourth of them.
- In January 2010 employees had the Internet access limited in 14% enterprises and 9% enterprises even utilised software to monitor webpages visited by their employees. About 27% enterprises enabled their employees to work from home by means of the ICT, yet this option was used regularly by only 3% of their employees.
- As in the case of enterprises majority of organisations of public administration has been connected to the Internet for a long time. Organisations of public administration offer the Internet access also to citizens by means of public access computers in their areas and premises. In 2009 this service was offered at 29% organisational units of the state, 69% regional authorities, and 71% municipal authorities. In the first quarter of 2010, however, mere 2.7% individuals stated they used the Internet from a public access computer at an authority or office.
- Almost 94% organisations of public administration had webpages, as a facilitator of the relation in between the citizen/enterprise and an authority, at the end of 2009. Information on respective conditions of life (personal documents, building permits, social benefits and allowances, tax forms, etc.) can be found on majority of public administration webpages (92%). Necessary forms for download were available on webpages of 46% authorities and offices and 13% authorities and offices enabled to have them filled in on-line. Proceedings for building permit (form to download) became the most often offered on-line type of service on webpages of municipalities with extended powers in the middle of 2010.
- The Internet was utilised by 22% individuals and 89% enterprises having 11+ employees when dealing with public administration in the Czech Republic. In the case of individuals the Czech Republic falls deep below the EU27 average, which was 41% in 2010. Both individuals and enterprises in the Czech Republic use the Internet when dealing with public administration mostly for communication and searching for information. The on-line filling in of the forms is much less frequent.
- While in 2005 there were almost 9 computers per 100 pupils and students at the Czech basic and secondary schools and only two thirds of them were equipped with a high-speed Internet connection, five years later, in 2010, there were already 13.5 computers per 100 pupils and students and 90% of the computers had a high-speed Internet connection. In the same year three quarters of students of secondary and higher schools and universities used the Internet every day.
- In 2009 there were 97% of independent doctor’s surgeries equipped with the personal computer in the Czech Republic. In the same year 76% of doctor’s surgeries were connected to the Internet and 60% of them had a high-speed connectivity. The share of health care establishments having their own webpages looks, compared to other entities (enterprises, or authorities and offices) substantially worse. Although 97% hospitals had an Internet presentation in 2009, in independent doctor’s surgeries the percentage was, however, mere 17%. One can find significant differences in this indicator within respective types of doctor’s surgery, for instance, 22% doctor’s surgeries of paediatricians, but solely 13% primary care doctor’s surgeries or 8% dentists had their own webpages.
- The Internet, either at home or in doctor’s surgery, is used by physicians having an independent practice, for instance, to acquire information on practical medicine (65%), to communicate with patients (33%), or to keep health care documentation (8.3%). The health care documentation of patients has not been entered and stored in the computer still in over one fifth of doctor’s surgeries.
- Second sight at the ICT in relation to health and health care offers a survey among individuals. In 2010 it was 19% persons aged 16+ years who sought health information by means of the Internet. It further follows from the survey that women use the Internet for seeking health information twice more frequently than men.
Research, Development and Information Society Statistics Unit
Czech Statistical Office
| Ing. Martin Mana martin.mana@czso.cz |
Mgr. Eva Skarlandtová
eva.skarlandtova@czso.cz |
