2. Personal Use of Information Technology
2.1 Computers in Homes (Updated)
The figures used in this section are taken from the Household Economic Survey conducted by Statistics New Zealand (Statistics NZ), which from March 1998 became a triennial survey instead of an annual one, with the last survey carried out in the 12 months to June 2001. The Household Economic Survey gathers information from around 3,000 private New Zealand households. Since up until 1998 the survey assessed each household over a 12-month period ending in March, it is reasonable to attach the figures to a March year-end. For 2001 the survey was carried out over a twelve-month period ending in June 2001, and so the figure is for a June year-end.
Figure 2.1.1 shows a time series from 1986 to 2001 of the percentage of households with a computer. Note that the survey does not distinguish between households with only one computer and those with more than one. The average increase from March 1986 to March 1998 was 14% pa. Between 1998 and 2001 growth slowed slightly in percentage terms to 12 % pa.
Figure 2.1.1: Percentage of Households with a Computer
In addition to home computers, the survey also asks about the availability of a number of other electronic amenities. Table 2.1 shows the percentage of households responding to the survey that reported the presence of a range of these amenities in 1998 and 2001.
Table 2.1: Percentage of Households with Selected Amenities (March 1998 and March 2001)
| Amenity in dwelling | Percentage of Households
1998 | Percentage of Households
2001 |
|---|
| Clothes Washing Machine | 97.7 | 97.2 |
| Colour Television | 97.2 | 98.1 |
| Telephone | 96.0 | 93.7 |
| Video Recorder | 79.3 | 82.6 |
| Microwave Oven | 80.0 | 81.7 |
| Dishwasher | 33.3 | 38.9 |
| Home Computer (PC) | 32.9 | 46.6 |
| Cellular Phone | 21.3 | 58.3 |
| Subscriber TV Decoder | 19.7 | 30.8 |
Figure 2.1.2 shows the percentage of households owning four of these amenities from 1990 to 2001. In 1998, the number of households with a computer was roughly equal to the number owning a dishwasher, by 2001 the percentage of households with a computer significantly exceeded the percentage of households with a dishwasher. After steady growth between 1996 and 1998 cellular phone growth rapidly accelerated from 1998 to 2001, with the percentage of households with a cellular phone almost tripling during this period.
Figure 2.1.2: Household Amenities (Percentage of Households)
2.2 Personal Use of the Internet (New)
The following figures are new to this year's report and are based on figures from ACNielsen (ACNielsen).
Figure 2.2.1 shows the percentage of people with access to the Internet since 1998. The percentage of people with access has increased steadily from 42% at the beginning of 1998 to 72% by the end of 2001.
Figure 2.2.1: Access to the Internet - Any Location (Percentage of People)
Figure 2.2.2 shows the percentage of people who have accessed the Internet in the last 4 weeks. This percentage has increased more rapidly than the percentage of people with access to the Internet, shown in Figure 2.2.1, rising from 18% at the beginning of 1998 to 53% at the end of 2001, an increase of almost 200%.
Figure 2.2.2: Internet Usage in the Last Four Weeks (Percentage of People)
Figure 2.2.3 breaks down the percentage of people with access, shown in figure 2.2.1, to the location of access for the last quarter of 1999, 2000 and 2001. Access from home has increased significantly over this period. This is not surprising considering the increase in the percentage of households with a computer shown in figure 2.1.1. Access from Internet Cafés has more than doubled.
Figure 2.2.3: Access to the Internet by Location (Percentage of People)
2.3 Cellular Phone Connections (New)
Figure 2.3 shows the number of cellular phone connections between March 1988 and September 2001 based on figures from Telecom New Zealand and Vodafone. Growth has been rapid, particularly since 1998. Between March 1999 and September 2001 the number of connections increased by 200%. As of September 2001 Telecom had 1,377,000 connections and Vodafone 1,077,340, a total of 2,414,340.
Figure 2.3: Number of Cellular Phone Connections (March 1988 - September 2001)
Note: Numbers for Telecom are Telecom estimates for the first two years. Prior to November 1998 Vodafone's cellular network was owned by BellSouth.
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