TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Household internet penetration in Taiwan reached 93.4% in 2025, a record that underscores how embedded the internet has become in daily life, CNA reported.

Between May and July 2025, the Ministry of Digital Affairs conducted a survey of internet usage among people aged 12 and older, using landlines and mobile phones, and collected 15,142 valid responses.

Mobile internet use on personal devices reached a record 90.3% last year, up 2.7% from 2024. The share of frequent internet users rose from 67.5% in 2024 to 68.8% last year.

Messaging remained the most popular online activity, used by 97.2% of users, followed by online video entertainment at 91.2%. More than half of users also go online to search for information, read, use online banking, or access cloud services.

Among users, 46.9% searched for information via websites, down 3.4% from 2024. The ministry attributed the decline to more users turning to AI-powered applications.

Last year, 69.3% of people bought goods, ordered meals, booked rides, or reserved accommodations online, up 0.8% from 2024. However, the ministry noted the share of sellers offering goods online fell from 8.3% in 2024 to 7% last year.

Taiwan had more than 11.6 million 5G users as of November, the National Communications Commission reported. Taiwanese spend an average of 7 hours and 23 minutes online daily, including about 4 hours on mobile phones. Nearly 60% of internet users also watch short videos each day.

The share of users who have tried generative AI rose from 26.8% in 2024 to 43.2% last year, with 8.5% willing to pay for premium features.

Facebook remained the most popular social media platform in Taiwan, used by 51.4% of internet users, followed by Instagram at 21.1% and Threads at 4.6%. Internet use among people aged 70 and older rose from 31.9% in 2022 to 53.8% last year.