This increase boosted the overall number of households with an at-home internet connection to nearly 560,000, according to a press release.

Sigrid Saagpakk, analyst at Statistics Estonia, explained that the internet and online services play an increasingly bigger role in people's lives.

"By age group, the share of internet users is the highest among young people, where almost 100 percent of them use the internet," Saagpakk said. "Internet use is most frequent among those aged 16-24, with 96 percent of them using the internet several times a day."

The older the internet user, meanwhile, the less frequently they use it.

"58 percent of respondents in the 65-74 age group said that they use the internet several times a day," the analyst said.

"Meanwhile, there are also people who use the internet each month, but not each week," she continued. "In 2023, for example, such users account for 4 percent of those aged 65-74."

Online shopping more popular among women

Among people aged 16-74, members of 615,200 households have shopped online, up some 45,000 on year.

The share of online shoppers is higher among women, at 66 percent, than men, at 58 percent.

Clothes, shoes and sporting goods accounted for the items most commonly purchased online in Estonia (purchased by 315,800 people), followed by movies and music (241,500 people) as well as books (176,000 people).

67 percent of online shoppers also use the internet to purchase travel and accommodation services, while 52 percent also take out insurance policies online. In the second quarter of 2023, 55 percent of online shoppers bought concert, movie or theater tickets online as well.

The most popular online services in Estonia are internet banking (91.1 percent) and email (90.6 percent). Many people also use the internet to read newspapers and magazines (84.9 percent) and search for information (84.6 percent).

"Estonian residents prefer to buy goods and services from sellers based in Estonia (89 percent), but 43 percent have also bought from sellers from other EU countries," Saagpakk noted.

Digital skills improving

Along with the increase in the number of internet users, people in Estonia have become more proficient computer users as well.

This is illustrated by the fact that, compared with 2021, there has been a rise in the number of internet users who have restricted cookies. Saagpakk said that as of this year, there are already 381,000 people in Estonia who have knowingly changed their browser settings to limit the ways websites can collect information about them.

"The main activity for which people use a computer is to move files — for example, to download files from a digital camera or move files from a smartphone or the cloud to their computer (64 percent)," she explained. "Computer users also install software or apps (60 percent) and use word processing software (61 percent). There has definitely been an improvement in digital skills across all age groups."

The use of ICT by people aged 16-74, by households and by businesses is studied by statistical offices in all EU member states according to a harmonized methodology. Statistics Estonia conducts its annual survey on the use of ICT in households and by people aged 16-74 in the second quarter each year.

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