Census: More than half of Puerto Rico homes online
Comparison of Internet access in homes in Puerto Rico vs. U.S. mainland in 2013.
More than half of Puerto Rico homes had access to the Internet in 2013, according to data released by the U.S. Census Bureau through its Puerto Rico Community Survey.
The study shows that 50.4 percent of homes had access either through subscriptions to the Internet (46.7 percent) or other non-subscription-based services (3.7 percent.) When compared to the U.S. mainland, Puerto Rico’s numbers are lagging, as up north, some 78.6 percent of homes had access to the Internet last year.
The publication also provided data about social, economic and housing characteristics of Puerto Rico towns with a population of 65,000 or more, which were summarized and presented by the Puerto Rico Statistics Institute.
Among the 11 municipalities with more than 65,000 inhabitants, municipalities with the highest percentage of households with Internet access are Guaynabo (70.9 percent), Trujillo Alto (67.7 percent) and Carolina (65.5 percent), while municipalities with the lowest percentage are Arecibo (46.0 percent), Mayagüez (46.6 percent) and Ponce (47.7 percent).
“The inclusion of questions on access to the Internet in the Puerto Rico Community Survey offers a new tool for monitoring the evolution of the Internet in Puerto Rico. From now on, every year the U.S. Census Bureau will publish these data, which in a few years will also make it possible to measure Internet access levels for all towns,” Statistics Institute Executive Director Mario Marazzi-Santiago.
On the other hand, estimates of emigration of Puerto Rico to the U.S. mainland arising from this survey show a slight decrease of 74,000 people in 2012 to 73,000 in 2013. Meanwhile, estimates of immigration from the U.S. mainland to Puerto Rico increased from 20,000 people in 2012 to 25,000 people in 2013. As a result, the net migration between Puerto Rico and the mainland increased from 54,000 in 2012 to -49,000 in 2013.
Every year Estudios Técnicos, Inc. does a survey of Internet use for the Sales and Marketing Executives Association (SME). This year’s study reflected 58% access. What is interesting is that the figure in the first study in 2005 was only 35%. There is still a digital divide with access being significantly lower in low income individuals and in those with less formal education. Another interesting finding is that 75% of those interviewed accessed the Internet through their cell phones. Purchases in dollar volumes through the Internet leveled off this year, but still about a third of Internet users use it to purchase a variety of items. The full study can be acquired from the SME. JJ VIllamil