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The Census and Statistics Department (C&SD) released today (November 30) findings of the two surveys on the usage and penetration of information technology (IT) in Hong Kong conducted during May to August 2006 on households and business establishments respectively.
The Household Survey focused on IT penetration amongst households and IT usage amongst household members, and the Establishment Survey focused on the patterns of IT usage and penetration amongst business establishments.
According to the results of the Household Survey, personal computers (PC) and Internet connections were very common in households. Some 1 662 200 households, or 71.7% of all domestic households in Hong Kong, had PC at home in 2006. Among those households with PC at home, some 1 556 300 (93.6%) had their PC connected to the Internet, representing 67.1% of all domestic households in Hong Kong. This represents a slight increase when compared to the situation in 2005.
The usage of PC and Internet services was also prevalent among persons aged 10 and over in Hong Kong. The 2006 survey revealed that some 3 897 900 persons aged 10 and over, or 62.9% of all persons in that age group, had used PC at least once in the twelve months before the survey. The rates of using PC were higher amongst younger persons, better-educated persons and students.
In 2006, some 3 770 400 persons aged 10 and over, or 60.8% of all persons in that age group, had used Internet service in the twelve months before the survey via various media including PC, WAP phones and personal digital assistants (PDA).
Utilisation of electronic business services was also high amongst people in Hong Kong. About 97.4% of all persons aged 15 and over had used electronic business services of one form or another for personal matters in the twelve months before the survey, similar to that of 2005 (97.3%). The electronic business services covered in the Household Survey included the use of Octopus card, Automatic Teller Machine (ATM), e-cash, Easy Pay System (EPS), Payment by Phone Service (PPS), online searching for financial information/information on goods and services/information on job vacancies, etc.
Regarding the usage of online purchasing services, the 2006 survey estimated that around 508 300 persons aged 15 and over, or 8.8% of all persons in that age group, had used one or more types of online purchasing services for personal matters in the twelve months before the survey, being similar to that in 2005 (498 200 persons and 8.6%).
Use of online Government services and browse of Government websites via Internet service were also more common. In the twelve months before the 2006 survey, 2 146 100 persons aged 10 and over, or 34.6% of all persons in that age group, had used online Government services for handling personal matters. In addition, among persons aged 10 and over who had used Internet service via non-mobile web device, 40.9% within the group (or 1 535 700 persons) had browsed Government websites/searched for or downloaded Government information online, indicating an increase of 3.5 percentage points from 2005.
According to the Establishment Survey, the percentage of establishments using personal computers (PCs) was 60.5%, same as that in 2005. Meanwhile, the percentage of establishments having Internet connection increased, from 54.7% in 2005 to 55.9% in 2006. This revealed that IT usage in the business sector, in particular Internet usage, maintained a steady growth.
Analysed by size of the establishments, 99.2% of large establishments, 85.9% of medium establishments and 56.2% of small establishments were using PCs. The corresponding figures for 2005 were 97.5%, 88.9% and 56.4% respectively. Besides, 94.7% of large establishments, 80.7% of medium establishments and 51.7% small establishments had Internet connection in 2006, as against 91.5%, 83.6% and 50.5% respectively in 2005.
Among the major sectors, PCs were most popularly used in the financing, insurance, real estate and business services sector (88.1%) and the wholesale, retail, import/export trades, restaurants and hotels sector (60.6%). The percentage of establishments with Internet connection was also highest in these two sectors, at 87.1% and 55.6% respectively.
In 2006, 17.5% of the establishments had a Web page or Web site, 2.0 percentage points higher than the figure in 2005. The percentage continued to be much higher for large establishments (74.7%) than medium establishments (37.0%) and small establishments (13.5%). All establishments having Web pages/Web sites provided information about their establishments and the products and services they offered in their Web pages/Web sites. Nevertheless, only 8.7% of the establishments having Web pages/Web sites used their Web pages/Web sites as a channel for online ordering of their products and services.
In the twelve months before enumeration, 56.2% of the establishments had conducted electronic business activities. This was 2.5 percentage points higher than the corresponding figure in 2005. Analysed by type of the e-business activities conducted, receipt of goods, services or information through electronic means was the most common, followed by delivery of goods, services or information through electronic means. Electronic means included Internet, Interactive Response System through telephone lines/mobile telecommunications network and designated private network.
In 2006, 54.7% of the establishments had received goods, services or information through electronic means, up by 2.4 percentage points over 2005. In the Establishment Survey, goods received through electronic means were only restricted to those products that could be transmitted through electronic media, such as software packages and songs. Browsing information on the Internet was also regarded as receiving information through electronic means.
About 18.0% of establishments had delivered their goods, services or information through electronic means in 2006, up by 2.3 percentage points over 2005.
The total amount of business receipts received from selling goods, services or information through electronic means in 2005 was estimated at HK$43.9 billion, representing a noticeable increase of 59.0% over the HK$27.6 billion receipts received in 2004.
Commentary
A Government spokesman commented that as revealed by the survey results of this year, the penetration and usage of PC and Internet in the households had been maintained at a high level. Hong Kong is now one of the cities with the highest PC penetration and Internet service usage in the world. There is also a noticeable increase in the use of e-government services by the public. It is encouraging to see Hong Kong becoming a digitally inclusive society. The Government will continue to collaborate with IT bodies and non-government organisations to encourage different sectors of the community to adopt IT.
The survey also revealed that PC usage in the business sector as a whole had maintained steady while Internet usage had increased, indicating that there are still rooms for increase in IT penetration in the business sector. Among the major sectors, the high penetration rates in the financing, insurance, real estate and business services sector reflect Hong Kong's competitiveness in its key economic sectors. Moreover, there had been a considerable growth of 59.0% in monetary terms in the business receipts from selling goods, services or information through electronic means. Other e-commerce activities such as receipt / delivery of goods, services or information through electronic means in the business sector had also maintained a steady growth over the past year. We are glad to see the wider adoption of IT within the business sector.
The Government will continue with its efforts and strive to help the industry, especially the small and medium enterprises, to exploit the full potential and benefits of IT in advancing their business interests. Since 2004, six different industry sectors, namely travel agents, private medical doctors, drugstores, logistics, accounting and beauty services providers, have benefited under the sector-specific programmes launched by the Government to encourage the wider adoption of IT and e-commerce. The Government will launch the new round of sector-specific programmes in early 2007 to drive the development and adoption of e-business applications and business process reengineering that help to sustain the competitiveness of businesses. Under the next wave of e-government, we have soft launched a new One-Stop Access Portal, named GovHK, in September 2006 to facilitate better access to online government information and services.
Background information
The Household Survey was based on a scientific sample of households that represent the population of Hong Kong. The survey successfully enumerated some 10 000 households, within which some 27 500 persons aged 10 and over were interviewed.
The Establishment Survey was based on a sample of some 4 700 establishments covering all industry sectors except the agriculture and fishing sector and the mining and quarrying sector. Specifically, the following industry sectors were covered: manufacturing; electricity and gas; construction; wholesale, retail and import/export trades, restaurants and hotels; transport, storage and communications; financing, insurance, real estate and business services; and community, social and personal services.
The establishments were categorised according to their employment size as at end-March 2006 into large, medium and small establishments. Large establishments referred to establishments with 100 or more persons engaged for the manufacturing sector, and 50 or more persons engaged for other industry sectors. Small establishments referred to those with less than 10 persons engaged regardless of sector. The others were regarded as medium establishments.
Since results of the surveys are subject to both sampling and non-sampling errors, care should be taken in comparing the 2005 and the 2006 figures, as a minor difference might not necessarily be statistically significant.
More detailed results of the Household Survey and the Establishment Survey are set out in the "Thematic Household Survey Report No. 27: Information Technology Usage and Penetration" and the "Report on 2006 Annual Survey on Information Technology Usage and Penetration in the Business Sector" respectively. The two reports are both in bilingual form.
The publications are now available for download (in PDF format) free of charge at the "Statistical Bookstore, Hong Kong" (www.statisticalbookstore.gov.hk). The print versions of the publications can be purchased in the following ways:
* Purchase in person at the Publications Unit of the C&SD (Address: 19/F, Wanchai Tower, 12 Harbour Road, Wan Chai; Tel: 2582 3025). The Household Survey Report and the Establishment Survey Report are for sale at HK$114.0 and HK$45.0 per copy respectively.
* Complete a mail order form which is available for downloading from the website of C&SD (www.censtatd.gov.hk/products_and_services /other_services/provision_of_stat/mail_ordering_of_publications/index.jsp) and return it to C&SD. Prices (excluding postage) are the same as above.
* Purchase online at the Statistical Bookstore or the Government Bookstore of the Information Services Department (www.isd.gov.hk/eng/bookorder.htm). Print versions if purchased online are offered a discount and are sold at 85% of their original prices. After discount, the price (excluding postage) is HK$96.9 per copy for the Household Survey Report and HK$38.3 per copy for the Establishment Survey Report.
The attached tables summarise the key results of the two surveys. A summary of the results of the two surveys is also available on the "Digital 21" website (www.digital21.gov.hk). Enquiries about the results of the surveys may be directed to the Science and Technology Statistics Section of the C&SD (Tel: 2887 5559).
Ends/Thursday, November 30, 2006
Issued at HKT 16:19
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