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Bangladeshis use internet mostly for calls, social networking, news

As per Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics
MAHMUDUL HASAN and MD ASADUZ ZAMAN
Calls, social networking and news consumption dominate internet usage in Bangladesh amidst a scarcity of local and Bangla content.
About 61.5 per cent of the users opted for internet calls in 2023, down from about 85 per cent a year earlier, according to the latest survey conducted by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS).
About 60 per cent of the users participated in social networks, down from 83.3 per cent a year earlier.
A significant portion of the users -- over 51 per cent -- read or downloaded online news in 2023. In 2022, 58.7 per cent used the internet for the consumption of news.
The BBS published the report titled “Survey on Access and Use of ICT at the Household and Individual Level” on its website on Thursday.
The internet connection tools taken into consideration were wired broadband connections and wireless mobile network connections.
“People still use the internet for rudimentary tasks due to lack of localised and Bangla content,” Syed Almas Kabir, former president of the Bangladesh Association of Software and Information Services (BASIS), told The Daily Star.
“Internet usages for performing official tasks, purchase and e-governance services are still very low,” he added.
Only 3.2 per cent used the internet to receive a formal online course.
As much as 0.7 per cent used the internet for communication with government agencies, 3.6 per cent posted opinions on civic and political matters on websites or social media and 3.6 per cent used the internet for professional networking.
Some 6.2 per cent used the internet to find information about products and services, 11.5 per cent for travel-related accommodation services, 17.4 per cent for downloading software or applications and 43.4 per cent for sending or receiving emails.
Around 0.5 per cent used the internet to look for a job or send job applications.
“There is not enough good content for education in local languages. Also, jobs are not aplenty,” AKM Fahim Mashroor, chief executive officer of bdjobs.com
Besides, the internet is predominantly used for entertainment, he added.
Meanwhile, the number of internet connections in Bangladeshi households has increased by 5.5 per cent in 2023 compared to that in the previous year.
Currently, 43.6 per cent of households have internet facilities, specifically 63 per cent in urban areas and 37 per cent in rural areas.
Moreover, the proportion of individuals using the internet has increased to 44.5 per cent from 37.3 per cent.
Individuals’ tendency to use the internet “at least once a day” has risen to 71.7 per cent from 68.2 per cent.
But in case of “at least once a week but not every day”, it is a decrease from 24.9 per cent to 21.6 per cent.
Besides, 8.9 per cent of households in Bangladesh have a computer, specifically 3.3 per cent of rural households and 26 per cent of urban households.
The survey found 68.6 per cent of urban residents using the internet while in case of rural areas it was 36.4 per cent.