As of January 2024, nearly 98 percent of the United Kingdom (UK) population used the internet. This figure has increased by around eight percent over the past five years. Overall, there were around 66 million internet users in the United Kingdom as of 2023.

Internet use in the UK annual estimates by age, sex, disability, ethnic group, economic activity and geographical location, including confidence intervals.

From September to November 2023, Google.com was the leading website in the United Kingdom with more than 4.98 billion monthly visits. The search engine was also popular in its UK top-level domain, with Google.co.uk reaching 255 million views and placing tenth in the ranking. YouTube and Facebook were the most visited social media platforms, ranking second and fourth most visited websites in the country.

A reported 95.3 percent of the United Kingdom (UK) population were using the internet in 2022, the same share as 2021.Internet users in Great Britain 46.6 million people used the internet daily in Great Britain during 2020 according to the United Kingdom’s (UK) Office for National Statistics (ONS), breaking the record set in 2016. 41.8 million people in Great Britain used the internet on a daily basis during 2016, the first time the amount cracked the 40 million mark. Methods of accessing the internet In a survey conducted during early 2018, Ofcom found that 48 percent of the 2,392 respondents indicated that their smartphone was the most important device they use to access the internet, at home or elsewhere. Mobile internet usage penetration is higher in the UK than the EU average, however, as of February 2021, desktop searches still managed to account for the most of the search engine activity in the UK.

The statistic shows the percent of households in the United Kingdom that have some form of internet connection. In 1998, when this survey initiated, only 9 percent of households had internet connection. As of 2018, that number has increased significantly to 89 percent of households that have access to the internet. The market penetration was highest in this year.

The population share with internet access in the United Kingdom was forecast to continuously increase between 2024 and 2029 by in total 2.9 percentage points. After the ninth consecutive increasing year, the internet penetration is estimated to reach 89.24 percent and therefore a new peak in 2029. Notably, the population share with internet access of was continuously increasing over the past years.The penetration rate refers to the share of the total population having access to the internet via any means. The shown figures have been derived from survey data that has been processed to estimate missing demographics.The shown data are an excerpt of Statista's Key Market Indicators (KMI). The KMI are a collection of primary and secondary indicators on the macro-economic, demographic and technological environment in more than 150 countries and regions worldwide. All input data are sourced from international institutions, national statistical offices, and trade associations. All data has been are processed to generate comparable datasets (see supplementary notes under details for more information).

The percentage of households with internet access in the United Kingdom was forecast to continuously increase between 2024 and 2029 by in total 2.4 percentage points. After the seventh consecutive increasing year, the internet penetration is estimated to reach 99.01 percent and therefore a new peak in 2029. Depicted is the share of housholds with internet access in the country or region at hand.The shown data are an excerpt of Statista's Key Market Indicators (KMI). The KMI are a collection of primary and secondary indicators on the macro-economic, demographic and technological environment in up to 150 countries and regions worldwide. All indicators are sourced from international and national statistical offices, trade associations and the trade press and they are processed to generate comparable data sets (see supplementary notes under details for more information).

Forecast: Households with Internet Access at Home in the UK 2024 - 2028 Discover more data with ReportLinker!

Annual data on internet usage in Great Britain, including how households connect to the internet, internet activities and internet purchasing.

The population share with mobile internet access in the United Kingdom was forecast to continuously increase between 2024 and 2029 by in total 2.8 percentage points. After the fifteenth consecutive increasing year, the mobile internet penetration is estimated to reach 86.56 percent and therefore a new peak in 2029. Notably, the population share with mobile internet access of was continuously increasing over the past years.The penetration rate refers to the share of the total population having access to the internet via a mobile broadband connection.The shown data are an excerpt of Statista's Key Market Indicators (KMI). The KMI are a collection of primary and secondary indicators on the macro-economic, demographic and technological environment in up to 150 countries and regions worldwide. All indicators are sourced from international and national statistical offices, trade associations and the trade press and they are processed to generate comparable data sets (see supplementary notes under details for more information).

Forecast: Total Internet Users in the UK 2024 - 2028 Discover more data with ReportLinker!

This statistic illustrates the percentage of adults in the United Kingdom (UK) who had internet access at home from 2000 to 2020. In 2000, 30 percent of UK adults had internet access at home. Internet access among UK adults stood at 87 percent in 2020.

Among internet users between 18 and 64 years old in the United Kingdom (UK), 28 percent were individuals between 30 and 39. Those between 50 and 59 years old made up 21 percent of overall internet users in the market.

Statistics of how many adults access the internet and use different types of technology covering:

home internet access

how people connect to the web

how often people use the web/computers

whether people use mobile devices

whether people buy goods over the web

whether people carried out specified activities over the internet

For more information see the ONS website and the UKDS website.

Estimates of adult Internet users and non-users in the UK, by age, sex, disability, region, gross weekly pay, ethnicity and when adults last used the Internet.

Expert industry market research on the Internet Service Providers in the UK (2013-2031). Make better business decisions, faster with IBISWorld's industry market research reports, statistics, analysis, data, trends and forecasts.

As of March 2021, the digital population of the United Kingdom was counting approximately 10.6 million unique users on smartphones who were aged 55 years or older. UK users aged between 18 and 24 years old accessing the internet via smartphones were 5.3 million, while the number grew to 8.5 million in the case of users aged between 25 and 24 years old. UK internet users aged 55 and above also made up the largest demographic group for internet access on tablet devices, counting 8.3 million users.

As of January 2024, the United Kingdom had approximately 66.33 million internet users in total. Meanwhile, there were 56.2 million active social media users as of the reported period, which accounted for over 82.80 percent of the total population.

Abstract copyright UK Data Service and data collection copyright owner.

The Opinions and Lifestyle Survey (OPN) is an omnibus survey that collects data from respondents in Great Britain. Information is gathered on a range of subjects, commissioned both internally by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) and by external clients (other government departments, charities, non-profit organisations and academia).

One individual respondent, aged 16 or over, is selected from each sampled private household to answer questions. Data are gathered on the respondent, their family, address, household, income and education, plus responses and opinions on a variety of subjects within commissioned modules. Each regular OPN survey consists of two elements. Core questions, covering demographic information, are asked together with non-core questions that vary depending on the module(s) fielded.

The OPN collects timely data for research and policy analysis evaluation on the social impacts of recent topics of national importance, such as the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and the cost of living. The OPN has expanded to include questions on other topics of national importance, such as health and the cost of living.

For more information about the survey and its methodology, see the gov.uk OPN Quality and Methodology Information (QMI) webpage.

Changes over time

Up to March 2018, the OPN was conducted as a face-to-face survey. From April 2018 to November 2019, the OPN changed to a mixed-mode design (online first with telephone interviewing where necessary). Mixed-mode collection allows respondents to complete the survey more flexibly and provides a more cost-effective service for module customers.

In March 2020, the OPN was adapted to become a weekly survey used to collect data on the social impacts of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic on the lives of people of Great Britain. These data are held under Secure Access conditions in SN 8635, ONS Opinions and Lifestyle Survey, 2019-2023: Secure Access. (See below for information on other Secure Access OPN modules.)

From August 2021, as coronavirus (COVID-19) restrictions were lifted across Great Britain, the OPN moved to fortnightly data collection, sampling around 5,000 households in each survey wave to ensure the survey remained sustainable.

Secure Access OPN modules

Besides SN 8635 (which includes the COVID-19 Module), other Secure Access OPN data includes sensitive modules run at various points from 1997-2019, including Census religion (SN 8078), cervical cancer screening (SN 8080), contact after separation (SN 8089), contraception (SN 8095), disability (SNs 8680 and 8096), general lifestyle (SN 8092), illness and activity (SN 8094), and non-resident parental contact (SN 8093). See the individual studies for further details and information on how to apply to use them.

Main Topics:

The non-core questions for this month were:

Internet Access (Module MAZ): this module was asked on behalf of the Office for National Statistics. The module underwent significant changes, hence the name change from MAI to MAZ. The format also changed, with MAJ (the extra component run in conjunction with this module in the past), being dropped along with some of the questions.