RIYADH — The rate of individuals using internet in Saudi Arabia jumped to 94.3 percent in 2022, according to a bulletin of the General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT). The bulletin is based on the access and use of information and communication technology for families and individuals for the year 2022, which aims to provide recent data and indices on the activity of communications and information technology for families and individuals in the Kingdom. According to the data, the rate of individuals, aged 15 years and above using internet, increased to 94.3 percent, an increase of 1.4 percent while compared to 2021. The rate of men using internet reached 95 percent, while that of women stood at 93.3 percent. Saudis constituted 93.6 percent while non-Saudis make up 95.2 percent of the internet users. The percentage of families with access to internet was 96.5 and the percentage of families with a computer was 57.4. The data showed that the rate of individuals aged 15 years and above, who used computer in 2022 amounted to 49.3 percent, and Saudis constituted 55.1 percent and non-Saudis 40.08 percent, and the rate of individuals, aged 15 years and above, who owned a mobile phone in 2022 reached 97.7 percent. Participation in social media was the most common among individuals, aged 15 years and above using internet, representing 92.8 percent of the total internet users. The male usage rate was 92.9 percent, while the female usage rate was 92.6 percent. According to the bulletin, the rate of individuals, aged 15 years and above, who purchased goods and services via the internet reached 59.7 percent of the total internet users for the year 2022, as the percentage of male purchases was 58.8, while the percentage of female purchases via the Internet was 60.9. Shoes and sporting goods are the most purchased items via the internet with a rate of 77.2 percent of the total purchases, the bulletin pointed out.
