High mobile, internet penetration boost use of e-government services

Muscat: Nintey-four per cent of household members own a mobile phone, and 93 per cent of the surveyed individuals use the Internet, in the Sultanate, a survey has revealed.

The information is part of a survey conducted by the National Centre for Statistics and Information’s “Measuring Access and Usage of Information and Communication Technology Among Households and Individuals”.

The results of the survey carried out in cooperation with the Ministry of Transport, Communications and Information Technology during the period from 14 February to 4 March 2021.

The data showed an increase in the usage of laptops in the Sultanate of Oman, as it increased from 34 per cent in 2020 to 38 per cent in 2021, and the use of tablets also grew from 17 per cent to 20 per cent during the same period.

The results also indicated that sending messages via e-mail, WhatsApp or SMS came as the most prevalent arithmetic skill that accounted for 97 per cent, then using copy and pasting tools with 87 per cent, and using basic arithmetic formulas on the data page reached 65 per cent.

It also indicated that 94 per cent of household members own a mobile phone, and 93 per cent of the surveyed individuals used the Internet.

The percentage of using the Internet for the purposes of interacting with e-government services increased from 34 per cent in 2020 to 55 per cent in 2021.

The use of online banking services also increased from 38 per cent in 2020 to 53 per cent in 2021, while the percentage of internet usage for educational purposes increased from 28 per cent in 2020 to 39 per cent in 2021.

The results show that clothes, shoes, sportswear, or accessories are the types of goods or services that were purchased online, accounting for 66 per cent, while the foodstuffs purchased online was 56.8 per cent.

The percentage of preference for shopping in stores was 71.8 per cent, while the percentage of disinterest in shopping online was 50.4 per cent of the surveyed sample.

The data also indicate that 94 per cent of families have access to the Internet, and the percentage of tablets in households increased from 37 per cent in 2020 to 51 per cent in 2021, and smart TVs also increased from 47 per cent to 59 per cent during the same period.