Israel now has 2.5 million Internet users aged 13 and above, up from 2.2 million in February 2003, according to the TNS Teleseker survey (TIM) for November 2003. The survey also found that 74% of Internet users go online daily, compared with 68% in February.
36% of users surf more than 15 hours a week, compared with 29% of users in February. More households now have high-speed Internet: 53% of households have Internet access, of which 81% have high-speed access, or 43% of all households, compared with 47% of users with high-speed access, amounting to 23% of all households, in February.
Internet users aged 13 and above now constitute 36% of Israel's total population (2.45 million out of 6.75 million), and 48% of the population aged 13 and above. 51% of all adults aged 18 and above use the Internet on a daily basis. Internet use is defined as any use of an Internet service - e-mail, surfing, online shopping, etc. - at any frequency and from any location - home, office, school, etc.
The survey found that 53% of all households in the Jewish sector now have Internet access, of which 80% have either ADSL or cable high-speed access.
More home surfing
74% of all Internet users surf daily or almost daily: in other words, almost 1.9 million Israelis aged 13 and above. 92% of all Internet users tend to surf from home and 53% from other locations as well. 93% of Internet users surf from home, 32% from the office, 20% from school or university, and 24% from other locations, such as cafes and friends' homes. 6% of Internet users never surf from home, but only from other locations.
The most common use of the Internet is to seek information; 96% of Internet users use the Internet for this purpose. The main topics sought are trips and holidays (57%), companies, goods and services (38%), economic statistics and other research (37%), and sports (35%).
Most Internet uses are rising. The fastest growing uses are news, chat rooms, and online radio and music listening.
Online shopping on the rise
The current survey found that 40% of all Internet users, or 14.5% of the Israel's population, regularly buy or order goods and services online, up from 35% of all users in February. 38% of surfers reported making a purchase during the 12-month period preceding the survey, and 13% had made a purchase in the previous month.
More Israeli men than women use the Internet: 58% to 42%. More people aged 39 and below than people over 40 use the Internet: 57% to 44%. 53% of people with higher education and 41% of above average income-earners use the Internet. Internet use among women has risen to 43% today from 36% in November 2001; among people aged over 40, it has risen to 43% from 37% in the same period; and among people with a high school education, it has risen to 43% from 35%. In other words, over time, the profile of Internet users is more closely resembling that of the general population.
A breakdown of regular buyers of goods and services online found the following: 67% are men; 53% are aged 30-49; 57% have higher education; and 41% are above-average income-earners.
The TNS Teleseker TIM Internet survey is a periodic up-to-date representative sampling of Internet users aged 13 and above. The November 2003 survey was conducted among 851 Internet users representing Jewish communities across Israel. The telephone survey was conducted from the TNS Teleseker center in the Dan region in accordance with full sampling and interview models. The November 2003 survey was the seventh TIM survey of Internet use in Israel since the beginning of 2000.
Published by Globes [online] - www.globes.co.il - on December 22, 2003