TIC Households 2023, research promoted by the Internet Steering Committee in Brazil (CGI.br), found that 84% of Brazilian homes have access to the internet. In other words, equivalent to 64 million homes. After two years of stability, the number means an increase of 4% compared to the results of 2022.
According to the study data, this is linked to the significant growth in access to networks in class C homes (from 87% in 2022 to 91% in 2023). Houses in classes DE also gained more access this year (from 60% to 67%).
Despite growth, country suffers from digital exclusion
The ICT Households 2023 survey also indicates the growth in the proportion of internet users in Brazil. The study reveals that 84% of Brazilians accessed the network in the last three months. This represents around 156 million citizens.
According to the report, the data can be expanded if we consider people who said they were not connected during the period, but said they used apps that require connection. With the “correction”, the number reaches 164 million users – or 88% of the country’s population.
However, 29 million Brazilians are disconnected. Of this portion, 24 million are residents of urban areas, 17 million declare themselves to be black or mixed race and 17 million are part of the DE classes.
The study reflects the digital exclusion that affects the urban peripheries of Brazil. As various services become available partially or exclusively online, a large part of the population is excluded due to lack of access to technology.
How Brazilians access the internet in 2023
TIC Domicílios 2023 also showed the ways most Brazilians use to access the internet. The cell phone is the platform used by 99% of people to stay connected, followed by television (58%) and computers (42%).
The study reveals that 58% of citizens only connect via telephone. Exclusive access via mobile devices is greater among women (64%) than men (52%); and among blacks (64%) and browns (63%) than among whites (49%).
Still focusing on cell phone use, 60% of Brazilians have a prepaid plan and 36% adopt a postpaid plan. Among people in class A, 97% use both Wi-Fi and a mobile network. In the DE classes, 36% use the internet exclusively via Wi-Fi and 11% access it only via the mobile network.
