By Mertkan Oruc and Emir Yildirim
ISTANBUL (AA) - The Internet usage rate in Türkiye among people aged 16-74 reached 90.9% this year, according to a survey on information and communication technology usage in households by the country’s statistical bureau TurkStat on Wednesday.
Last year, the rate of Internet users in Türkiye for those aged 16-74 was 88.8%.
This year, the rate of Internet use among men was reported to be 93.6%, while the rate for women is 88.2%, according to TurkStat data.
The rate of people in Türkiye accessing official government websites and public services applications was 76.1% this year, while the rate of people using e-government services was 92.8% among the 25-34 and 29.6% among the 65-74 age groups, the data showed.
Of those accessing e-government services, 68.5% of the users accessed their personal information from relevant public authorities or services, followed by public institution appointments with 53.6%.
E-commerce use rose from 51.7% to 55.7% this year, while the rate of men purchasing or ordering goods and services was 59.1% and for women 52.3%.
The rate of people using the Internet to engage in educational, professional, or personal learning activities increased by 3.9 points versus last year to 17.7%, while the rate of women in this category was 18% and men 17.5%, the data showed.
The most used social media and messaging app was WhatsApp this year with 88.6% of users using it, followed by YouTube with 72.9%, and Instagram with 68.1%. TurkStat said that men used WhatsApp, YouTube, and Instagram more than women, while women used WhatsApp, YouTube, and Instagram more than men.