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14% of adults in the UK have never used the internet

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By Jennifer Faull, Deputy Editor

May 16, 2013 | 2 min read

According to new data from the Office for National Statistics, more than seven million, or 14 per cent, of UK adults over the age of 16 have never used the internet.

The data, which was collected over two years, shows that 4.2 million women have failed to get online, compared to 2.8 million men.

The figures indicate that 326,000 adults used the internet for the first time between January and March this year.

The statistics were also broken down by age, with 99 per cent of 16-24-year-olds found to have used the internet.

Unsurprisingly, the over 75s had the greatest proportion of non-internet users however the number of people in the age group going online has increased by more than 10 per cent over the past two years.

A regional breakdown of the figures showed Londoners were most likely to be internet users, with 90 per cent having accessed web content, while those in Northern Ireland are slower on the internet uptake.

The ONS found that income remains a barrier to getting online, as more than five per cent of workers with a gross weekly pay of less than £200 per week have never connected. Internet use has almost reached full coverage for those earning in excess of £500 a week, with internet use at 98 per cent or above for all adults with weekly pay rates above this level.

A spokesperson for the ONS said: "Internet use is linked to various socioeconomic and demographic characteristics, such as age, sex, disability, geographical location and weekly earnings.

"For example, those who are less likely to have used the internet include elderly and disabled adults."

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