Vietnam leads growth in internet usage

Over the past 10 years, Vietnam has experienced the fastest growth in internet penetration in the region. According to official figures, 31% of the Vietnamese population are online and every year an additional 2-3 million Vietnamese go online. “In a short time, Vietnam has caught up with countries such as China or Thailand, where the internet has a much longer history. The internet is rapidly becoming an integral part of Vietnamese lives”, says Lukas Mira, Cimigo’s Online director.

Long hours spent online

The internet is accessed very frequently. Most internet users are online every day or multiple times a week. According to the study, users spend more than two hours a day on the internet. “This is longer than in most countries around the region. Vietnamese people seem to be enthusiastic about the new opportunities that the internet provides to enrich their lives”, remarks Lukas Mira, author of the study.

With an increasing middle class in the Vietnam, more and more families have their own computer, which gives them the opportunity to access the internet from home. Internet cafes are still popular, but are mainly accessed by young age groups and lower socio-economic classes that would otherwise not have access.

Infotainment is top

According to the study, the main purpose of using the internet is to gather information and read the news. Nearly all online users are accessing newspaper websites such as Dan Tri, VnExpress or 24h. However, there is a trend to using the internet more for entertainment purpose. “Vietnamese people especially like to listen to music and watch movies online. We measured a constant increase in such entertainment activities over the past few years. At the same time, there is an increasing number of websites offering such services” comments Lukas Mira, author of the study. About 80% of internet users listen to music online, and two-thirds download music from the internet. Half of internet users watch movies online. Online entertainment activities are most often completed by the age group 15-24, while older internet users focus more strongly on online news.

About Vietnam Netcitizens Report

The Cimigo NetCitizens Report is based on a representative survey among more than 3,300 internet users in 12 key cities in Vietnam. Cimigo initiated this study with the aim to create a better understanding of the Vietnamese internet market. The report has been published since 2007 on a yearly basis.
 

The Vietnam NetCitizens Report 2011 is available for free and can be downloaded from cimigo.vn

English version: download here 
Vietnamese version: download here