One-third of Maltese do not browse online

The Maltese are more likely to use online social networks than email and a third do not browse online, a Europe-wide survey by the EU commission shows.

While Europeans are more likely to use their email than the social media, the Maltese are more likely to use the social media than their email.

While 50% of the Maltese use online social networks on a daily basis, compared to just 39% of citizens in all 28 EU member states, only 45% of the Maltese use email on a daily basis, compared to 46% of citizens in all EU member states.

The survey also shows that Malta has a larger percentage of citizens than other EU countries who never use the internet for browsing purposes. While 33% of Maltese never use the internet to browse, only 22% of all EU citizens are in the same situation.  

The survey shows that there are 18 Member States where at least one in five respondents say they never use the Internet to browse online or they do not have access to the Internet, with those in Romania (36%), Malta (33%) and Bulgaria (32%) the most likely to say so.

The Maltese are the second most likely of Europeans to use their fixed phone line everyday, the survey shows. But the Maltese are also among the most likely never to use email. 

The survey also shows that Malta has a larger percentage of citizens than other EU countries who never use the internet for browsing purposes

While only 38% of respondents in all 28 EU members use a fixed line everyday, 62% of Maltese use a fixed line every day. When it comes to the use of a fixed line, the Maltese are only surpassed by the Greeks, 74% of whom use their fixed line every day. The least likely to use their fixed line on a daily basis are the Finns, two per cent of whom only use their fixed line daily.

Only four per cent of the Maltese never use their fixed line – compared to 21% of Europeans and 88% of the Finns. 

The Maltese are also more likely to use the mobile phone on a daily basis to make calls and send messages than the average European. While 80% of the Maltese use their mobile phone daily compared to 74% of Europeans, only 5% of Maltese never use their mobile phone – compared to seven per cent of all Europeans.

The survey also shows that 40% of the Maltese use the internet for instant messaging every day. This is just one percentage below the European average. 43% of Maltese and 40% of all respondents in the EU 28 never use the internet for this purpose. The Dutch (61%) are the most likely to use the internet for this purpose.

45% of the Maltese use the email on a daily basis compared to an EU average of 46%. The most likely to use email daily are the Dutch (67%) and the Finns (64%)

The absolute majority of the Maltese (64%) incorrectly believe that according to law, instant messaging and online voice conversations are confidential and nobody can access them without their permission. This incorrect belief is also shared by 58% of citizens in all EU member states.

In only three countries at least half know it is false that instant messaging and online voice conversations are confidential and cannot be accessed without permission: Denmark (57%), Sweden (51%) and the Netherlands (50%). At the other end of the scale just 6% in Greece, 9% in Cyprus and 16% in Lithuania know this statement is false.