The percent of Uruguay’s population with access to information and communication technologies has grown. According to Uruguay‘s National Institute of Statistics (INE) the total inhabitants who owned PCs (laptops included) increased from 47.6% in 2009 to 60% in 2011, while people with Internet connections grew from 27.7% in 2009 to 43.8% in 2011.
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Regarding mobile lines, INE said that 71.6% of people aged 6 or older owned a cellphone by the end of 2011, which is more than 68.9% in 2010. More women (72.6%) owned mobile phones than men (70.5%).
Mobile penetration is higher among people ages 20 to 49. In the country’s capital of Montevideo, the mobile penetration is higher than the national average at 75.9%.
The results are part of INE’s survey that shows, among others issues, how Uruguay’s ICT and other sectors have evolved over the years.
During 2011, 55% of Uruguayans said they used a computer in the past year, of which 51.4% accessed Internet. About 80% of people ages 12 to 19 said they accessed the Internet in 2011, followed by 74.2% of people ages 6 to 11 and 69.3% of people ages 20 to 29. This shows young people are more likely to use the Internet than older people. Only 23% of Uruguayans over the age of 50 said they accessed the Internet last year.
