Survey says: 1/3 of Filipinos have Internet Access

One in three Filipinos now has access to the Internet, with younger demographics lording it over the online population, according to a report released Wednesday by global insights and measurement company Nielsen.

Snippets from the inaugural Southeast Asia Digital Consumer Report showed that 33 percent of 94 million Filipinos is online, five percentage points lower than the regional average of 38 percent.

In the Philippines, Internet penetration among consumers aged 15 to 19 was close to two-thirds (65 percent) and nearly half of those in their 20’s were online (48 percent).

However, Nielsen noted there is still much room for growth for those aged 30 and above.

The survey showed that less than one quarter of consumers aged in their 30s (24 percent) access the Internet, 13 percent of consumers in their 40s, and just four percent of consumers aged 50 and above.

Besides the Philippines, online consumer behavior in four of Southeast Asia’s biggest economies was also tracked in the survey to be released on September 30. These are Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia.

The survey indicated that two out of three Singaporeans (67 percent) have Internet access compared to the one is to five ratio in Indonesia (21 percent), which is the lowest among five countries.

By Virgil Lopez