Canary Islands is at the head of Spain and the European Union (EU) in internet connectivity, according to the Report of the Digital Society in Spain 2023 of Telefónica Foundation, which specifies that at the European level the archipelago exceeds the average by 6 points in this indicator.
The Canarian population continues to advance in its digitization, according to the data of the aforementioned study by Telefónica Foundation released this Tuesday, and according to which almost 97% of homes in the Canary Islands have access to the internet.
In the case of fixed broadband in homes, that percentage reaches 83.8%; 0.8 points more than the national average, and at the European level the Canary Islands exceeds the EU average by 6 points in this indicator (77.8%), according to the DESI indicators (Digital Economy and Society Index).
The frequency of internet use is a relevant indicator to analyze the evolution of the digitization of Canarian society, and in 2022 94.9% of the population had used the internet at some time, 0.4 points more than the previous year.
Almost all Canarians use the internet regularly
97.9% of the total population between 16 and 74 years old used the internet regularly (at least once a week), a figure comparable to the European average collected in the key indicators in digitization of the European Commission.
In addition, the percentage of users who access the internet several times a day grew significantly, from 78.9% in 2021 to 82.4% in 2022, the study adds.
The analysis of the specific uses of the internet by the Canarian population shows the consolidation of most of them, and in this way the users of email make up 80.4% of the population between 16 and 74 years old, 1.9 points more than in 2021.
Similarly, the percentage of those who used instant messaging services went from 90.5% in 2021 to 93% in 2022.
Another relevant service whose percentage of users has increased during 2022 is electronic banking, used by 68.7% of the Canarian population.
Digitization of administration and companies
Electronic administration is another of the areas linked to the digitization of society in which the Canary Islands stands out, and in 2022 80.8% of the Canarian population between 16 and 74 years old used some web page or mobile application, 1.1 points more than the average of Spain; while 66.5% downloaded or printed some official form, and 53.3% made an online appointment to carry out administrative procedures.
The Digital Society Report in Spain 2023 highlights that the digital transformation of the Canarian business fabric continues to advance, penetrating all business processes to increase the competitiveness of companies.
Among the most outstanding growths in the field of micro-enterprises is the percentage of companies that have computers to carry out their activity, which goes from 83.8% in 2021 to 87% in 2022 and exceeds the national average by 1.2 points.
Regarding SMEs and large companies, 98.7% have an internet connection, 0.5 points more than the national average and of the connected companies, 98.2% have a fixed connection.
Among the latter, 85.4% have cable or fiber optic access, 6.8 points more than in 2021.
Finally, another digital element that has increased its presence among Canarian SMEs and large companies is the web page, an essential tool for one of the main businesses of the islands such as tourism, the report emphasizes.
In 2022, 73.7% of this segment of companies that had internet access also had a web page, 5.8 points more than in 2021.
Similarly, the percentage of companies with internet access that use social media has also increased, from 60.8% in 2021 to 64% in 2022.
