TECH FEATURES

PH spends most time

online and on social media
– report
The country's average speed of 4.2 Mbps – below the 6.3 Mbps global average – does not
dissuade Filipinos from logging long hours online

Rappler.com
Published 9:31 PM, January 30, 2017
Updated 9:31 PM, January 30, 2017

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MANILA, Philippines – More than half of the world's population now uses the Internet: A
whopping 3.75 billion people. That's according to the "Digital in 2017 Global Overview"
report prepared by social media consultancy We Are Social and the social media
management platform Hootsuite.

Internet use continues to grow around the world, with the number of internet users
growing by 8% year-on-year. The world also continues to shift to mobile, with the report
noting an increasing share of online activity on mobile. More than half of all online traffic
now comes from mobile.

In the Philippines, about 60 million – or 58% of the total population – have access to the
internet. The country is slightly above the global internet penetration average of 50%,
and higher than the rate in countries such as China (53%), Vietnam (53%) and India
(35%). The United States tops the list at 99%.

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The report said the number of internet users in the Philippines has grown by 27% in the
past 12 months – second only to Indonesia's 51% growth rate for the same period.

When Filipinos go online, they tend to hang around, specifically for 8 hours and 59
minutes every day on average – the highest in the world. Brazil follows at 8 hours and
55 minutes; Thailand at 8 hours and 49 minutes; and Indonesia at 8 hours and 43
minutes. Japan sports the shortest period of use at 4 hours and 6 minutes every day.

The figures represent combined desktop and mobile figures.

One common joke among Filipinos is that the country spends that much time online
because the internet is slow. It's not completely untrue; the Philippines average fixed
internet connection speed sits at a paltry 4.2 Mbps, which is below the 6.3 Mbps global
average.

South Korea tops the rankings at 26.3 Mbps while Nigeria finds itself at the back of the
race at 3.0 Mbps. The report cited Akamai's State of the Internet statistics, released
back in December 2016.

Some 38% of all web traffic in the Philippines comes from mobile, a figure below the
global average of 50%.

Social media addicts

Globally, there are now 2.789 billion social media users – 37% of the world's population
– across all platforms.

The leading platforms are Facebook, which is home to 1.871 billion users. WhatsApp
and Facebook Messenger are in a tie for second with a billion users each.

In terms of social media penetration, 58% of the Philippines has a monthly active
account on the top social network here. The percentages are based against country
populations. As a result, the Philippines ranks above the global average of 37%. The
United Arab Emirates is up top at 99%, with Nigeria's 10% at the opposite end.