NZ climbs to eighth in internet rankings

More than two-thirds of New Zealanders now have internet access at home, placing this country eighth out of 30 developed countries.

The Ministry of Social Development's latest Social Report shows that the percentage of adults aged 18 and over with internet access jumped from 36.5 per cent in 2000 to 65.1 per cent in 2004.

The most connected households are Asian and other ethnic groups, whose internet access rose from 50.5 per cent to 79.6 per cent by 2004.

The least connected are superannuitants with little other income, with only 30.6 per cent online in 2004. But that was still three times greater than four years earlier (9.1 per cent).

International comparisons for 2004 were not available, but the report said New Zealand's 2003 internet access rate of 53 per cent placed the country eighth out of 30 nations in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

New Zealand was ranked behind Australia (57 per cent) and the United States (55 per cent), but ahead of Canada (48 per cent) and Britain (42 per cent).

Within New Zealand, internet access increased from 2000 to 2004 from 36.8 per cent to 63.1 per cent for Europeans, from 26.9 per cent to 45.5 per cent for Maori and from 11 per cent to 39.5 per cent for Pacific Islanders.

Access rose from 46.5 per cent to 77.7 per cent in two-parent families with children, and more than doubled from 22.8 per cent to 50.2 per cent in solo-parent families with children.

Even superannuitants are now more likely than not to have access if they are still working or have other income on top of their super.

Working-age households aged 18 to 64 with at least one fulltime worker increased their access from 42.6 per cent to 73.5 per cent.

On the other hand, increasing poverty for those on benefits in the years before last year's Working for Families package appears to have forced some households to give up the phone entirely.

Those without a phone increased from 3.4 per cent of the adult population in 2000 to 4.4 per cent in 2004.