DOSM: Internet access usage increase to 91.7 pct in 2020

KUALA LUMPUR: The percentage of households having access to the Internet has increased to 91.7 per cent in 2020 from 90.1 per cent in 2019, said the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM) yesterday.

Chief statistician Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin said access to mobile phones and computers also increased to 98.6 per cent and 77.6 per cent, respectively, in 2020.

“The survey that was carried out during the Covid-19 pandemic showed that internet usage among Malaysians age 15 and above had increased significantly to 89.6 per cent in 2020 from 84.2 per cent in 2019,” he said in a statement yesterday.

Mohd Uzir noted that the most popular internet activity was participation in social networks.

Internet usage had also significantly increased for services related to education, e-health, egovernment, e-commerce and entertainment.

He said more Malaysians had opted to use the internet to order goods or services, seek health information, conduct online banking transactions, participate in informal or formal online courses and get information from government organisations.

Mohd Uzir noted that the ordering of goods or services via the telephone, Whatsapp and Facebook has increased to 54.4 per cent in 2020 from 22.5 per cent in 2019.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, the percentage of Malaysians using the internet to seek healthrelated information or services increased to 61.9 per cent in 2020 from 45.2 per cent in 2019, he added.

Meanwhile, 61.9 per cent of Malaysians had opted for internet banking in 2020, a significant increase compared to 50.5 per cent in 2019.