Canadian internet usage statistics

It’s Christmas in July!


Yes, it’s that time of year again, the time when the Statistics Canada Internet Use Survey (CIUS) results are released to the public. Actually, the results were published in June, but I’m still brimming with excitement!

This is the kind of stuff that tech seers and Web 2.0 magi (I think I’m a magi?) eagerly anticipate. It’s hard empirical evidence for the adoption of trends and technologies which have really only been explained through rough anecdotes and less pure statistical findings.
In 2005, the HIUS was replaced by the CIUS. The new report can be found here on Statistics Canada’s website and it’s designed “to more closely conform to international standards” with a greater focus on individual, rather than household internet use.

But can you tell the real from the fake findings? Read the statements below and try to determine if they’re true or false.

To see the correct answer, highlight the space after >>> marks with your cursor.

In 2007, 73% of Canadians went online
>>>TRUE

This is down from 75% of Canadians in 2005
>>>FALSE, this is UP from 68% in 2005

Those living in cities access the internet relatively more than those living in rural areas
>>>TRUE

In Canada, women spend more time online at each sitting than men
>>>FALSE, relatively more men spend more time online than women

In Canada, women are online more frequently than men
>>>FALSE, relatively more men go online more often than women

Internet usage is relatively identical among people in different income brackets
>>>FALSE, the internet is used relatively more by people with higher incomes

91% of people with incomes of more than $95,000 used the internet in the last 12 months while only 47% of people with incomes of less than $24,000 used the internet in the last 12 months
>>>TRUE

96% of people ages 16-24 went online in the last 12 months
>>>TRUE

Relatively more immigrants who arrived in Canada in the last 10 years used the internet in the last 12 months than people who were born in Canada
>>>TRUE

A majority of Canadians with broadband access report seething rage and dissatisfaction with Bell Sympatico or Rogers High Speed internet services.
>>>TRUE! Actually, this wasn’t published in the report, so I do not know whether it’s true or not

Adoption of Web 2.0 related online activities (blogging, posting images, contributing content, or participating in discussion groups) is practiced by 50% of home internet users
>>>FALSE, it’s only 20% who do this

In Calgary, 85% of people ages 16 and over use the internet
>>>TRUE

70% of Canadians report having five or more years of experience going online
>>>FALSE, 54% of Canadians have five or more years experience going online

More Canadians play games online than in 2005
>>>FALSE, 39% of Canadians played online games in 2007 and 2005

British Columbia experienced the greatest growth in internet usage from 2005 and now has the most number of people online of any province
>>>TRUE, 78% of people from BC went online in 2007, up from 69% in 2005

So overall there are some pretty interesting findings. I’d encourage the B!G associates and execs to check this out. Of particular interest to me is the big leap in high bandwidth online activities like streaming video or downloading music. Also intriguing is the plateauing of general purpose internet searching activities for information at levels between 60-70% of the population.