Young Cypriots live online — calls and chat are king

Internet usage is near-universal among Cyprus’ population but is highly dependent on age and educational background, according to the results of a survey released on Thursday by the Cyprus Statistical Service (Cystat).

The survey, which sought to gather date on iformation and communication technologies (ICT) usage in both Cypriot households and individuals, revealed that than nine out of ten people, specifically 93.6 per cent, use the internet at least once a week.

Internet use shows a distinct decline with age, starting at 98.5 per cent for the 16–24 age group and dropping to 81.5 per cent for the 55–74 age group.

Individuals with a high educational attainment level use the internet more frequently at 98.9 per cent compared to those with a low educational attainment level, who registered 75.9 per cent use.

The most popular internet activities among individuals during the first quarter of 2025 were overwhelmingly related to communication.

Making calls over the internet was the most common activity at 96.4 per cent, closely followed by instant messaging via platforms like Skype, Messenger, WhatsApp, and Viber at 96.2 per cent.

It should be noted, however, the consumer version of Skype is no longer operational as a standalone service, having been retired by Microsoft on May 5, 2025.

So the statistical service may have been using it as an example, or it may have been recorded in the results up until the date it was discontinued by Microsoft.

Participating in social networks such as Facebook and X (formerly Twitter) was reported by 92.3 per cent of users.

Reading online news stood at 91.1 per cent, while finding information about goods or services was at 88.2 per cent.

A portion of internet users in the first quarter of 2025 engaged in online learning, with 20.5 per cent using online learning material other than a complete online course.

Additionally, 17.8 per cent of individuals had taken an online course, and another 17.8 per cent communicated with educators or learners using online audio or video tools.

Regarding e-Government services, 62.7 per cent of individuals aged 16–74 obtained information from public authorities online during the period from April 2024 to March 2025.

The survey found that 52 per cent of this age group accessed information stored about them by public authorities or public services, and 31.9 per cent accessed information from public databases or registers.

In terms of e-Commerce, the proportion of individuals aged 16–74 years old placing online orders during the first quarter of 2025 saw a slight decrease to 62 per cent compared to 63.6 per cent in the corresponding period of 2024.

The most popular categories for online subscriptions were film, series, or sports streaming services at 43.5 per cent, music streaming services at 18.3 per cent, gaming streaming services at 9.5 per cent, and apps related to health or fitness at 7.5 per cent.

Among people who bought or ordered goods or services for private use in the first quarter of 2025, a majority bought tickets to events at 58.6 per cent.

This was followed by accommodation services at 53.2 per cent, and transport services at 50.3 per cent.