ONS report: Internet Users, UK: 2020
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has published its 2020 report on Internet use in the UK. It is important to note that the data set used covers the period January – March 2020 so it is not possible to use the 2020 data to indicate changes in internet usage as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Main points:
- 92% of adults in the UK were recent internet users in 2020, up from 91% in 2019.
- Almost all adults aged 16 to 44 years in the UK were recent internet users (99%), compared with 54% of adults aged 75 years and over.
- While there has been little change in internet use for adults aged 16 to 44 years in recent years, the proportion of those aged 75 years and over who are recent internet users nearly doubled since 2013, from 29% to 54% in 2020.
- 6.3% of adults in the UK had never used the internet in 2020, down from 7.5% in 2019.
- The number of disabled adults who were recent internet users in 2020 reached almost 11 million, 81% of disabled adults; up from just over 10 million (78% of disabled adults) in 2019.
- London continued to be the UK region with the highest recent internet use (95%) in 2020, while Northern Ireland remained the lowest at 88%.
