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The Census and Statistics Department (C&SD) releases today (December 6) findings of the two surveys on the usage and penetration of information technology (IT) in Hong Kong conducted during May to August 2007 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 1 671 600 households, or 74.2% of all domestic households in Hong Kong, had PC at home in 2007. Amongst those households with PC at home, some 1 580 200 (94.5%) had their PC connected to the Internet, representing 70.1% of all domestic households in Hong Kong. This represented a slight increase when compared to the situation in 2006.
The usage of PC and Internet services was also prevalent amongst persons aged 10 and over in Hong Kong. The 2007 survey revealed that some 4 061 500 persons aged 10 and over, or 66.4% 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 2007, some 3 961 400 persons aged 10 and over, or 64.8% of all persons in that age group, had used Internet service in the twelve months before the survey via various media including PC, Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) phones and Personal Digital Assistants (PDA).
Utilisation of electronic business services was also high amongst people in Hong Kong. About 98.2% 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, representing a slight increase when compared to the situation in 2006 (97.4%). 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 2007 survey estimated that around 576 800 persons aged 15 and over, or 10.1% 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, representing a slight increase when compared to the situation in 2006 (508 300 persons and 8.8%).
Uses of online Government services and browsing of Government websites via Internet service were also more common. In the twelve months before the 2007 survey, 2 299 500 persons aged 10 and over, or 37.6% of all persons in that age group, had used online Government services for handling personal matters. In addition, amongst persons aged 10 and over who had used Internet service via non-mobile web device, 42.3% within the group (or 1 663 700 persons) had browsed Government websites/searched for or downloaded Government information online, indicating an increase of 1.4 percentage points from 2006.
According to the Establishment Survey, the percentage of establishments using PCs was 63.8% in 2007, 3.2 percentage points higher than that in 2006. Meanwhile, the percentage of establishments having Internet connection also increased, from 55.9% in 2006 to 59.8% in 2007. This revealed that IT usage in the business sector registered a steady growth in 2007.
Analysed by size of the establishments, 99.1% of large establishments, 88.3% of medium establishments and 59.8% of small establishments were using PCs. The corresponding figures for 2006 were 99.2%, 85.9% and 56.2% respectively. Besides, 93.3% of large establishments, 82.8% of medium establishments and 56.1% small establishments had Internet connection in 2007, as against 94.7%, 80.7% and 51.7% respectively in 2006.
Amongst the major sectors, PCs were most popularly used in the financing, insurance, real estate and business services sector (86.0%) and the wholesale, retail, import and export trades, restaurants and hotels sector (66.4%). The percentage of establishments with Internet connection also ranked the top in these two sectors, at 84.4% and 62.3% respectively.
In 2007, 18.2% of the establishments had webpages or websites, 0.6 percentage point higher than the figure in 2006. The percentage was much higher for large establishments (75.0%) than medium establishments (39.6%) and small establishments (14.1%). All establishments having webpages/websites provided information about their own establishments and the products and services they offered on their webpages/websites. About 11.6% of those establishments having webpages/websites used their webpages/websites as a channel offered to clients for online ordering of their products and services.
In the twelve months before enumeration, 59.3% of the establishments had conducted electronic business activities. This was 3.1 percentage points higher than the corresponding figure in 2006. 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 2007, 58.3% of the establishments had received goods, services or information through electronic means, up by 3.6 percentage points over 2006. 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 18.3% of establishments had delivered their goods, services or information through electronic means in 2007, marginally higher than that in 2006.
The total amount of business receipts received from selling goods, services or information through electronic means in 2006 was estimated at HK$64.9 billion, representing a noticeable increase of 47.7% over the corresponding figure of HK$43.9 billion in 2005.
Commentary
A Government spokesman commented that Hong Kong has maintained its position as one of the leading digital cities with PC penetration and Internet service usage at a consistently high level. Since the penetration and usage of PC and Internet amongst households are already at a high level, they have more or less stabilised and showed some slight increases in 2007. There is also a noticeable increase in the use of e-government services by the public.
The survey also revealed that both PC usage and Internet usage in the business sector, and in particular amongst small and medium establishments, had increased steadily. Amongst the major sectors, the high PC and Internet penetration rates in the financing, insurance, real estate and business services sector underscore the importance of leveraging IT to sustain the competitiveness of Hong Kong's key economic sectors. In 2007, Hong Kong registered a rapid growth of 47.7% 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 observe the wider adoption of IT within the business sector.
The Government will continue to collaborate with industry/professional bodies and non-government organisations in facilitating business sectors, especially the small and medium enterprises, to exploit the full potential and benefits of IT so as to improve their competitiveness. Building on our efforts in driving e-business adoption amongst six industry sectors, namely travel agents, private medical doctors, drugstores, logistics, accounting and beauty services providers between 2004 and 2006, the Government sponsored five new projects under the 2006/07 Sector-specific Programme. The target sectors of the new round of Sector-specific Programme include beauty service, medical and health, watches and clocks, social service, and trade. These new projects are primarily focused on the development of pilot e-business applications and the establishment of industry portal sites to enhance knowledge sharing and information dissemination, thereby driving e-business adoption amongst the target sectors and enhancing their competitiveness.
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 29 800 persons aged 10 and over were interviewed.
The Establishment Survey was based on a sample of some 5 200 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, import and 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 2007 into large, medium and small establishments. Large establishments referred to establishments engaging 100 or more persons for the manufacturing sector, and those engaging 50 or more persons for other industry sectors. Small establishments referred to those engaging less than 10 persons for all sectors. 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 2006 and the 2007 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. 32: Information Technology Usage and Penetration" and the "Report on 2007 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 from the website of the Census and Statistics Department (www.censtatd.gov.hk/products_and_services/products/publications/index.jsp). Print version of the Household Survey Report is now available for sale at HK$160.0 per copy, while that of the Establishment Survey Report will be available for sale in end December 2007 at HK$77.0 per copy. They 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).
* Through mail order by returning a completed order form which can be downloaded from the C&SD's website (www.censtatd.gov.hk/products_and_services/other_services/provision_of_stat/mail_ordering_of_publications/index.jsp).
* Purchase online at the Government Bookstore of the Information Services Department (www.bookstore.gov.hk).
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 Household Survey and the Establishment Survey should be directed to the Social Surveys Section (Tel: 2887 0416) and the Science and Technology Statistics Section of the C&SD (Tel: 2887 5559) respectively.
Ends/Thursday, December 6, 2007
Issued at HKT 16:15
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