88% people use internet in Finland

Eighty-eight per cent of Finnish residents used the Internet in 2017, according to Statistics Finland.

Almost everybody aged 55 or under used the web and 73 per cent were online several times a day.

Five per cent of Finns aged 16 to 89 had rented accommodation from a private person through online marketplaces.

Seventy-seven per cent of Finns have a smartphone in their personal use and mobile phone is the most popular device for using the web. The popularity of social media services has grown further while that of blogs and chat groups has waned.

Finns use the Internet a lot. Seventy-three per cent of the population used the net several times a day in 2017. Of Internet users, the share was 83 per cent. In total population, the generality of web use several times a day grew by one percentage point. The share grew in most age groups.

The Internet is used mainly for everyday errands, communication, following the media and data search. Of everyday errands, banking is most commonly handled online. Eighty-two per cent of persons aged 16 to 89 had used online banking in the past three months in 2017.

Fifty-two per cent of Finns had bought goods or services through the web in the past three months. People also use the Internet increasingly for handling matters with authorities and access public services. Sixty per cent of Finns had sent an official form through the web.

The mobile phone is an ever more popular device for using the web. Sixty-eight per cent of Finns aged 16 to 89 had used the Internet on their mobile phone while moving outside home and workplace in 2017. The (wireless) web use of other devices suitable for mobile use, such as laptops or tablets, outside home and workplace has not grown from the previous year.

Social media services are ever more popular, as many as six out of ten persons aged 16 to 89 follow them. Following has grown by a few percentage points yearly. In contrast, the part of social media related to immediate commenting on online news, blogs and chat groups has lost its popularity from before.

Five per cent of Finns aged 16 to 89 had rented accommodation directly from a private person through an online marketplace during the past year. Renting of private accommodation was most common in the 35 to 44 age group. Only four per cent of Finns had acquired paid transportation offered by private persons on the web.