In Brazil, internet usage is increasing in rural areas

According to a new study released by the Brazilian Internet Steering Committee (CGI.br), the proportion of rural Internet users has increased compared to the pre-pandemic period, but high-speed connections and computers are still lacking. increase.

This study, conducted by the Area Studies Center for Information Society Development (Cetic.br) at Pont BR’s Information Coordination Center (NIC.br), provides the latest indicators of access and use of information technology and communication. .. (ICT) In Japan. According to a survey, remote Internet use in Brazil increased from 53% of individuals over the age of 10 in 2019 to 73% in 2021.

According to a survey, in 2021, 81% of the population over the age of 10 used the Internet in the last three months. That’s 148 million people. In addition, the percentage of network users has increased significantly in the North (83%), South (83%), and Northeast (78%) regions compared to 2019.

According to the survey, households in rural Brazil are also connected to the Internet. Between 2019 (pre-pandemic period) and 2021, the percentage of households with network access in these areas increased by 20 percentage points from 51% to 71%.

Of the households connected, 61% have cables or fiber optics as the primary type of connection to the network. The penetration rate of cable or fiber optic connections is low in the northern region (53%) and in the northeastern part of the country (54%). In the north, a high percentage of households use mobile networks as their primary connection type (33%).

“This study confirms the link between the situation provided by the COVID-19 emergency, especially Internet access with advances in remote work and research activities. The presence of the Internet compared to the pre-health crisis period. Has increased, in its use at home and especially by individuals in rural areas, “said Alexandre Barbosa, Cetic.br’s manager.

The presence of internet connections in households has increased at all levels analyzed in relation to the data collected in 2019. This increase was more pronounced across the poorest segments of the population (61%, 11 percentage points increase). In terms of connectivity, the gap between the richest and the poorest households has decreased in recent years, with the gap between these demographics increasing from 85 percent points in 2015 to 39 points in 2021.

In addition, according to the survey, the prevalence of computers in households is only 39%, which is similar to the level observed in 2019. While there were stability scenarios in high-end households that already had computers (99% were the wealthiest and 83% in the upper middle class), the percentage of the poorest households with computers was It decreased from 14% in 2019 to 10% in 2021. In rural areas, the presence of computers in households is low (20%) compared to urban households (42%).

According to another study, also published by the Brazilian Internet Steering Committee, most Brazilians access the Web only through their smartphones. According to a survey published in August 2021, the majority of the country’s connected population does not own a PC and has limited access to activities such as distance learning.