92 million Brazilians access the Internet only via mobile phones, ICT Households 2022 indicates

Launched this Tuesday (16) by CGI.br, the survey showed that 142 million made daily or almost daily use of the network in the country and 67 million purchased online

The majority of Brazilian Internet users (62%) access the network exclusively through mobile phones, which is the reality for more than 92 million individuals. This conclusion is from ICT Households 2022, launched this Tuesday (16) by the Brazilian Internet Steering Committee (CGI.br). The new edition of the survey, conducted by the Regional Center for Studies on the Development of the Information Society (Cetic.br) of the Brazilian Network Information Center (NIC.br), reveals that Internet use solely via mobile phone is predominant among women (64%), black people (63%) and mixed-race individuals (67%), and among those belonging to classes DE (84%).

The survey investigated for the first time what the digital skills of Internet users are, regardless of the device used to access the network. More than half (51%) said they sought to check whether information found online was true. The percentage dropped when the question was directed at those who accessed the network only via mobile phone (37%), and it was higher among those who connect through multiple devices—both computer and mobile phone (74%).

A similar situation occurred when respondents were asked whether they adopted security measures, such as strong passwords or two-step verification, to protect devices and accounts: only 33% of those who access the network exclusively via mobile phone adopted these measures, while among users who access through multiple devices the proportion was 69%. The survey also investigates changing privacy settings on devices, accounts, or applications to limit the sharing of personal data (mentioned by 23% of those who use only the mobile phone, and by 57% of users of multiple devices) and creating computer programs or mobile apps using programming language (3% and 7%, respectively).

"In this edition, the digital skills indicator was applied to the set of Internet users in the country. The data indicates that those who access the network via computer report these skills in higher proportions than those who use only the mobile phone. Significant connectivity—which allows users to make better use of the Internet—depends not only on a good network connection but also on the quality of the devices," emphasizes Alexandre Barbosa, manager of Cetic.br|NIC.br.

While computer connection remained stable (38%) compared to the previous edition of the study, the use of television to access the Internet continues to rise, going from 50% to 55% between 2021 and 2022. Television devices continue to be the second most used device to access the network in the country, second only to mobile phones (99%).

Connectivity Challenges

Of the 149 million Internet users in the national territory, 142 million connect every day, or almost every day—with prevalence in classes A (93%) and B (91%) and in smaller proportions in C (81%) and DE (60%). Conversely, 36 million Brazilians are not network users. This group is larger among urban area inhabitants (29 million); with education up to elementary level (29 million); black and mixed-race people (21 million); from classes DE (19 million); and aged 60 or over (18 million).

Among the main reasons pointed out by those who never accessed the Internet, lack of interest (35%) and lack of computer skills (26%) were the most cited. Considering only class A, "lack of interest" jumps to 90%. Meanwhile, "lack of skills" increases when the focus is on the age group of 35 to 44 years, rising to 45%.

"The survey indicates that there was significant progress in network use in the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, but the indicator stabilized again in 2022. Brazil still has an important path to travel in universalizing access, adopting specific strategies for the digital inclusion of the most vulnerable populations," evaluates Barbosa.

Access in Households

The presence of the Internet in households also remained stable between 2021 and 2022, reaching 60 million Brazilian homes, which corresponds to 80% of the total households in the country. Stability in connection presence was observed in urban (82%) and rural (68%) residences and across all social strata analyzed: class A (100% of connected households), B (97%), C (87%), and DE (60%).

Cable or fiber optics remain the main type of connection in Brazil, present in 38 million households, especially in those in the southern region, where 72% of homes adopt this technology. On the other hand, the northern region has the highest proportion of households whose main connection is through a 3G or 4G mobile network (27%).

Among connected households, 16% share the connection with a neighboring household. This situation is more common in rural areas (27%), in the North (21%) and Northeast (22%) of Brazil, and in classes C (16%) and DE (25%). "We observe that a greater sharing of the connection occurs among the strata where there is also a higher proportion of households without Internet access, indicating the existence of barriers to connectivity," analyzes Fabio Storino, the survey coordinator.

Already in the case of households without network access, the price of the service, as observed throughout the historical series of the survey, was pointed out by interviewees as the main reason (28%) for non-connection, followed by lack of skills (26%) and lack of interest (16%).

E-commerce

The current edition of ICT Households also disclosed the results of the e-commerce module, which was last applied in the 2018 survey. The study showed that 67 million Internet users purchased products and services online in 2022. The activity remained high, even after the end of the social distancing measures imposed by the pandemic.

"With the health crisis caused by the new coronavirus and the consequent social isolation, there was an increase in the proportion of people buying online, a proportion that remained in 2022. There was also an expansion in the types of products purchased online, revealing a change in the profile of the country's e-commerce in recent years," Storino states.

Compared to 2018, the category of clothing, footwear, and sports materials stood out in online purchases, cited by 64% of those who made online purchases in 2022, a proportion that was 49% in 2018. Subsequently, household and appliance products appear (from 45% to 54%) and food and grocery items (increasing from 21% to 44%).

Regarding services performed online, those that grew the most during the period were: ordering taxis or ride-share drivers through apps (from 32% to 40%); paying for movies or series online (from 28% to 38%); and placing food orders through sites or applications (from 12% to 33%).

The most used payment method for online purchases in 2022 was the credit card (73%). Pix, launched at the end of 2020 and measured for the first time in the survey, was second (66%). "Despite being a newer payment method, Pix was used by 44 million Brazilians in online purchases, including 23 million from class C and 5 million from classes DE," comments Storino.

Online Activities

More than half (51%) of respondents conducted consultations, payments, or other financial transactions online in 2022, an increase of 5 percentage points over the previous year (46%), occurring mainly among users from classes C (from 45% to 51%) and DE (from 21% to 26%). Users from classes A (90%) and B (73%) continue to perform this activity in greater proportions.

Regarding multimedia activities, watching videos, programs, movies, or series online was the most prevalent (80% in 2022 against 73% in 2021). In all investigated multimedia activities, a higher proportion of activity was observed among male users than among females, with the largest differences related to playing online (conducted by 45% of men and 30% of women) and listening to podcasts (38% and 25%, respectively).

The proportion of those who posted their own content (texts, images, or videos) online jumped from 31% (2021) to 43% (2022). "In 2022, we witnessed an explosion of short and fast postings, facilitated by social network and instant messaging applications and stimulated by the resumption of in-person activities," explains Storino.

"The data production conducted by Cetic.br is essential as it allows a deep understanding of Internet usage nuances in the country and guides the production of public policies in various areas, not only those aimed at expanding access but also those that contribute to meaningful connectivity and the development of digital skills," emphasizes Renata Mielli, CGI.br coordinator.

About the Survey

Conducted annually since 2005, ICT Households aims to map access to information and communication technologies in the country's urban and rural households and their forms of use by individuals aged 10 or older. In the current edition, data collection took place from June to October 2022 (a period earlier than in 2021, when the collection took place from October of that year to March 2022), and included 23,292 households and 20,688 individuals.

For the complete list of indicators, visit: https://cetic.br‌/pt‌/pesquisa‌/domicilios‌/indicadores/. The full online launch is available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fgbzKg3VQ2M.

Cetic.br also makes the study's microdata available for download, as well as complete tables of proportions, totals, and respective margins of error at: https://cetic.br‌/pt‌/pesquisa‌/domicilios‌/microdados/.

About Cetic.br

The Regional Center for Studies on the Development of the Information Society (Cetic.br), part of NIC.br, is responsible for producing indicators and statistics on Internet access and use in Brazil, disseminating periodic analyses and information on network development in the country. Cetic.br|NIC.br is also a Regional Center of Studies under UNESCO's auspices, and celebrates 18 years of activity in 2023. More information at https://cetic.br/.

About the Brazilian Network Information Center – NIC.br

The Brazilian Network Information Center—NIC.br (https://nic.br/) is a private, non-profit civil organization responsible for operating the .br domain, distributing IP numbers, and registering Autonomous Systems in the country. NIC.br implements the decisions and projects of the Brazilian Internet Steering Committee - CGI.br since 2005, and all resources raised come from its activities, which are of a purely private nature. NIC.br carries out actions and projects that bring benefits to the Internet infrastructure in Brazil. NIC.br comprises: Registro.br (https://registro.br), CERT.br (https://cert.br/), Ceptro.br (https://ceptro.br/), Cetic.br (https://cetic.br/), IX.br (https://ix.br/) and Ceweb.br (https://ceweb.br), besides projects like Internetsegura.br (https://internetsegura.br) and Best Practices for Internet in Brazil Portal (https://bcp.nic.br/). It also hosts the W3C São Paulo Chapter office (https://w3c.br).

About the Brazilian Internet Steering Committee – CGI.br

The Brazilian Internet Steering Committee is responsible for establishing strategic guidelines related to the use and development of the Internet in Brazil, coordinating and integrating all Internet service initiatives in the country, promoting technical quality, innovation, and the dissemination of offered services. Based on the principles of multilateralism and transparency, CGI.br represents a democratic Internet governance model, praised internationally, where all society sectors participate equitably in its decisions. One of its formulations is the 10 Principles for Internet Governance and Use (https://cgi.br/resolucoes/documento/2009/003). More information at https://cgi.br/.

Media Contacts – NIC.br:

Weber Shandwick
https://webershandwick.com.br/
PABX: (11) 3027-0200 / 3531-4950
Ana Nascimento - anascimento@webershandwick.com - (11) 98670-6579 

NIC.br Communication Advisory
Carolina Carvalho - Communication Manager - carolcarvalho@nic.br
Soraia Marino - Communication Coordinator - soraia@nic.br 

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This content was automatically translated with the support of artificial intelligence.