Main contents start here
Summary of the 2006 Survey of Household Economy (Results Related to Information Technology (IT))
I Outline
1. Ownership and Utilization of Equipments and Services Related to Information Technology (IT)
a. Ownership of Equipments which can be connected to the Internet
The proportion of households owning equipments which can be connected to the Internet was 60.5% in 2006, up 3.5 percentage points from the previous year (57.0%). Among the equipments, Personal Computers held the largest share of 53.2%, followed by Cell Phone/PHSs (43.7%). Compared with the preceding year, Personal Computer marked a 4.1-point increase, while Cell Phone/PHS marked a 1.2-point increase.
b. Equipment which are connected to the Internet for a long time
Among the equipments which can be connected to the Internet, those which are connected to the Internet for the longest time was Personal Computers (41.4%), followed by 8.7% of Cell Phone/PHSs. Compared with the preceding year, Personal Computer marked a 4.7-point increase.
c. Means of Communication for accessing the Internet
Among households owning equipments which can be connected to the Internet, the proportion of those accessing the Internet (except for i(L)-mode, Vodafone-live!, EZweb, and so on) was 44.4%, up 5.3 points from the preceding year. Breaking down the access by means of communication which are used most frequently, xDSL lines (ADSL, etc.) marked 15.1%, followed by Fiber-optics (9.1%).
2. Utilization of the Internet
a. Utilization of the Internet by Purpose
The proportion of households of which at least one member had accessed the Internet at any time within a month was 50.2%, up 4.6 points from the preceding year.
Breaking down these figures according to the purpose of accesses, the collection of information accounted for the largest share (43.2%) among the households surveyed, followed by the e-mail (29.4%) and the Internet shopping (17.8%).
b. Utilization of the Internet for purchasing goods and services
In the analysis of the utilization of the Internet for purchasing goods and services, the proportion of households of which at least one member had used the Internet for the collection of information was 31.6%, up 2.1 points from the preceding year. The proportion of households of which at least one member had ordered anything via the Internet was 21.1% of all the households surveyed, while that of households of which at least one member had paid via the Internet stood at 12.6%.
II. Analysis by characteristics of Households
Two-or-more person households
1. Analysis by Age Group of the Household head
a. Ownership of equipments which can be connected to the Internet
In an analysis of households owning hardware with the Internet access by Age Group of the household head, the 40-49 (years-old) was the top at 85.3%, followed by those aged 30-39 at 84.1% and those under 30 at 79.4%. The lowest rate was 35.5% for households whose heads were 70 years old or above.
In the breakdown by type of hardware with the Internet access, the proportion of Personal Computer was the highest in every bracket of those above 30 years, while that of Cell Phone/PHS was the highest in those under 30.
b. Utilization of the Internet
In an analysis of households of which at least one member had accessed the Internet within a month, the 40-49 marked the highest proportion at 76.2%, followed by those 30-39 years old at 72.7% and those under 30 group at 66.4%. Those 70 years old or above were again the lowest at 23.9%.
In terms of the proportion of households of which at least one member had collected information via the Internet for purchasing goods and services, the highest-ranked age group was the 30-39 at 48.3%, while the lowest was the over-70s at 11.5%.
2. Analysis by Occupation of Household head
a. Ownership of equipments which can be connected to the Internet
As for the proportion of households owning hardware with Internet access by occupation of household head, senior executives of companies was the highest at 77.6%, followed by employees at 77.2% and self-employed persons and others at 62.4%.
b. Utilization of the Internet
As for the proportion of households of which at least one member had accessed the Internet within a month, senior executives of companies was the highest at 67.4%, followed by employees at 65.4% and self-employed persons and others at 48.9%.
3. Analysis by Yearly Income Group
a. Ownership of equipments which can be connected to the Internet
In terms of the proportion of households owning hardware with Internet access, a tendency is found that the higher the income is, the higher the ownership rate of such hardware is.
b. Utilization of the Internet
The proportion of households of which at least one member had accessed the Internet within a month; it is found that the greater the income is, the higher the access rate is.
A similar trend is found regarding the proportion of households of which at least one member had collected information via the Internet for purchasing goods and services.
