Internet usage advances in rural areas during the pandemic, reveals new edition of the ICT Households Survey

According to the CGI.br survey, fiber optic connections and computers are still less present in these locations

The proportion of Internet users in rural areas increased in Brazil compared to the period before the pandemic, rising from 53% of individuals aged 10 or older in 2019 to 73% in 2021. This data is part of the ICT Households 2021 survey, released this Tuesday (21) by the Brazilian Internet Steering Committee (CGI.br).

Conducted by the Regional Center for Studies on the Development of the Information Society (Cetic.br) of the Brazilian Network Information Center (NIC.br), the survey presents the most recent indicators on access and use of information and communication technologies (ICT) in the country. The survey estimates that in 2021, 81% of the population aged 10 or older used the Internet in the last three months—which corresponds to 148 million individuals. A significant increase was also recorded in the proportion of network users in the North (83%), South (83%), and Northeast (78%) regions compared to 2019.

"The 17th edition of the survey confirms the relevance of Internet access in the context provided by the COVID-19 emergency, especially with the advancement of remote work and study activities. Compared to the period before the health crisis, there was an expansion of the Internet's presence in households and its use by individuals, especially in rural areas," highlights Alexandre Barbosa, manager of Cetic.br|NIC.br.

Access in households
Compared to the data collected in 2019, the presence of Internet connection in households increased across all analyzed segments, notably in the DE classes (61%, an increase of 11 percentage points). From a connectivity perspective, the disparity between households in classes A and DE has been decreasing in recent years, with the difference between these segments dropping from 85 percentage points in 2015 to 39 points in 2021.

Households in Brazilian rural areas are also more connected to the Internet. Between 2019 (pre-pandemic period) and 2021, there was an increase of 20 percentage points in the proportion of residences with network access in these regions, rising from 51% to 71%.

Among connected households, the presence of cable or fiber optic as the main type of network connection is in 61% of households. The penetration of connection via cable or fiber optic is lower in the North (53%) and Northeast (54%) regions. In the North region, there is a higher percentage of households that have mobile networks as the main type of connection (33%).

The presence of computers in households, however, remained at 39%, a level similar to that observed in 2019 (pre-pandemic period). While there was a scenario of stability in higher-income households, where computers are already more present (99% in class A households and 83% in class B), in DE classes, the proportion of households with a computer decreased from 14% in 2019 to 10% in 2021. In rural areas, the presence of computers in households is more reduced (20%) compared to households in urban areas (42%).

Devices for network use
In 2021, television sets surpassed computers, consolidating as the second most used device to access the network—from 37% of users in 2019 to 50% in 2021. This increase was observed in almost all analyzed segments, especially among those aged 35 to 44 (59%), users in the North region (45%), and women (51%). In total, 74 million individuals accessed the Internet using television, an increase of 25 million users in the period.

The survey also revealed the prevalence of exclusive use of mobile phones to access the network (64% of Internet users). The main device for Internet access since 2015, there was an increase of 6 percentage points in exclusive mobile phone use between 2019 and 2021. The indicator is higher among those living in rural areas (83%), in the Northeast (75%), among black (65%) and mixed-race individuals (69%), aged 60 or older (80%), and those who belong to DE classes (89%). Among users in class C, Internet access exclusively via mobile phone rose from 61% in 2019 to 67% in 2021, reaching a contingent of 51 million people.

"Despite the demand for connectivity created by the pandemic, there wasn't a large incorporation of computers in Brazilian households. Their use occurs mainly among people from higher-income and more educated segments. These, in turn, tend to use the Internet from multiple devices and connect both via mobile network and Wi-Fi, which facilitates a wider range of online activities. This factor has an important impact on the development of digital skills," points out Barbosa.

Electronic commerce
In 2021, 46% of Internet users made purchases online compared to 39% in 2019. In absolute numbers, this means that 68 million people performed this activity in 2021, almost 16 million more than before the pandemic began. Internet users living in rural areas also started making online purchases in greater proportions (from 19% in 2019 to 27% in 2021).

The greatest differences during the period were observed among users aged 35 to 44 (56%, an increase of 12 percentage points) and those belonging to class C (49%, 13 percentage points), although this activity is still carried out in larger proportions by class A users (90%).

Public services
The proportion of Internet users aged 16 or older who used e-government services rose from 68% in 2019 to 70% in 2021. About 93 million Brazilians reported using some type of e-government service during the period, an increase of 12 million individuals from 2019 to 2021. The most significant increases occurred in the South region of the country (from 69% in 2019 to 80% in 2021), among those with a family income of three to five minimum wages (from 79% to 88%), and those in the workforce (from 74% to 79%).

Among the types of public services analyzed by the survey, those related to health were the most sought or carried out in 2021, especially among users in class B (44%), with higher education (44%), and those aged 45 to 59 (34%)—in 2019, it was 25%, 28%, and 20%, respectively. "As a reflection of the pandemic, access to electronic services related to public health predominated, such as scheduling appointments, seeking information about vaccination, among other forms of interaction with health systems," commented the manager of Cetic.br|NIC.br.

Cultural activities
Among the activities carried out through the Internet, listening to podcasts was the one that grew the most compared to the pre-pandemic period. According to the 17th edition of ICT Households, 28% of Internet users said they listened to a podcast in 2021 (in 2019, it was 13%). In 2021, 41 million people engaged in this activity, about 24 million more than in 2019.

As verified in 2019, activities such as watching videos, programs, movies, or series online (61%) and listening to music (61%) were among the most cited online cultural activities by the overall Brazilian population. Regarding payment for services that provide access to cultural content, the largest increases compared to 2019 occurred in payments for viewing movies (an increase of 7 million individuals) and series (an increase of 9 million), an increase seen more intensely among individuals in class C.

"The survey reveals important changes in connectivity, especially in rural areas, and also the growth of television as a device for Internet access. The ICT Households plays a fundamental role in assisting public authorities and society in proposing policies aimed at improving Internet access, highlighting challenges and indicating opportunities for advancement," completes José Gontijo, coordinator of CGI.br.

About the survey
Conducted annually since 2005, the ICT Households Survey aims to measure the possession, use, access, and habits of the Brazilian population concerning Information and Communication Technologies. Due to the social distancing measures imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic, in 2020 the survey adapted its methodology, being conducted primarily by phone. In 2021, the survey adopted a model of entirely in-person data collection. The data was collected between October 2021 and March 2022, including 23,950 households and 21,011 individuals aged 10 or older.

To check the complete list of indicators, visit: https://cetic.br/‌pt/‌pesquisa/‌domicilios/‌indicadores/. The online release is available in full at https://youtu.be/_VuyE1zGNiA.

About the Regional Center for Studies on the Development of the Information Society - Cetic.br
The Regional Center for Studies on the Development of the Information Society (Cetic.br), of NIC.br, is responsible for producing indicators and statistics on Internet access and use in Brazil, disseminating periodic analyses and information about the network's development in the country. Cetic.br|NIC.br is also a Regional Center for Studies under the auspices of UNESCO and completed 16 years of operation in 2021. 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 entity responsible for operating the .br domain, as well as 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, with all funds raised deriving from its activities of an eminently private nature. It conducts actions and projects that benefit 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), in addition to projects like Internetsegura.br (https://internetsegura.br) and the Good Practices for Internet Portal in Brazil (https://bcp.nic.br/). It also hosts the W3C Chapter São Paulo office (https://w3c.br/).

About the Brazilian Internet Steering Committee - CGI.br
The Brazilian Internet Steering Committee, responsible for establishing strategic guidelines related to Internet use and development in Brazil, coordinates and integrates all initiatives of Internet services in the country, promoting technical quality, innovation, and the dissemination of offered services. Based on the principles of multistakeholderism and transparency, the CGI.br represents a democratic Internet governance model, internationally praised, where all sectors of society participate equally 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/.

Press Contacts:

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

Communication Advisory – NIC.br
Carolina Carvalho – Communication Coordinator – carolcarvalho@nic.br
Soraia Marino – Communication Analyst – soraia@nic.br
Bruna Migues – Communication Analyst – bmigues@nic.br

Flickr: https://flickr.com/NICbr/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/comuNICbr/
YouTube: https://youtube.com/nicbrvideos
Facebook: https://facebook.com/nic.br
Telegram: https://telegram.me/nicbr
LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/company/nic-br/
Instagram: https://instagram.com/nicbr/

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