Brazil News
RIO DE JANEIRO – Brazilian Internet access increased by 10 million users between 2009 and 2011, an increase of 14.7 percent, reported online media. According to the National Survey by Household Sampling (PNAD), released Friday, with the increase, 77.7 million people had access to the worldwide web during the study period, more than four in 10 Brazilians (46.5 percent).
Brazilian Internet Access Makes Gains
Among regions, the Midwest was the one that gained the most users: 1 million or 17.2 percent. The Northeast and Southwest regions saw growth of 16.4 percent and 15 percent . The lowest growth in new access occurred in the North and South, with 1.2 million and 508 thousand.
Prepared by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE), the survey reveals that, in the Southeast, (54.2 percent), the Midwest (53.1 percent) and South (50.1 percent), more than half the inhabitants had access to the network. In the North and Northeast, one in three people are Internet users (35.4 percent and 34 percent, respectively).
Although the Internet has become popular among people of all ages, young people aged 15 to 19 access the Internet most often. About 70 percent is users (seven in 10). The number of users drops to less than four in 10 for people over the age of 40.
“It’s the younger people who access it the most, but there has been a significant increase among the 25-29 and 30-39 age groups. In the first group, access grew from 53 percent to 60 percent, and in the second group it grew from 42 percent to 51 percent,” the director of PNAD told Agencia Brasil.
The IBGE study also shows that, for the first time in all regions, more than half of residents aged 10 and over have a cellphone for personal use. In 2011, 115.4 million Brazilians have a cellphone, 21.7 million more than in 2009. The increase reflects popularity of the equipment in the Northeast and among people aged 10 to 17.
