Ifaz Rehan : Internet penetration in Bangladesh is steadily increasing. As of December 2024, 52% of households in the country have internet access, marking significant progress compared to 2023.
This data comes from the latest quarterly survey titled *”Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Access and Use”* conducted by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS).
According to the survey, internet connectivity was at 50.4% just three months ago but has now risen to 52%. Internet usage is also growing in rural areas, where connectivity increased from 46% to 48.2%. In urban areas, the rate rose from 60.2% to 61.6%.
However, the number of individual internet users is slightly lower than household connectivity. As of December 2024, 47.2% of the population uses the internet, up from 45.7% in September.
There is a clear urban-rural divide in usage: over 68% of urban residents use the internet, while in rural areas, the rate remains below 38%.
The survey also found that 98.7% of households own mobile phones, with at least 72% having smartphones. Television ownership stands at 63.6%, but only 9.2% of households have computers.
At the individual level, only 9% of people use computers, while 90% use mobile phones, and 65% own a personal mobile device.
Although more than half of households have internet access, not all members use it. However, among those who do, the majority are active online at least once a day.