Smartphones Surge, But Internet Inclusion Still Sluggish in Bangladesh: BBS Survey

Nearly 99 percent of individuals aged five years and above in Bangladesh own a mobile phone, with 72 percent using smartphones, according to the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS). The latest data comes from the October–December quarter of the 2024–25 fiscal year, as published in the BBS’s quarterly survey on the application and usage of ICT, released on April 7.

Among the smartphone users, 69 percent reside in rural areas and 79 percent in urban areas. Despite the widespread ownership of smartphones, only 52 percent of users access the internet. Of these, 75 percent connect to the internet at least once daily, 18 percent use it at least once a week, and 6 percent report not using the internet at all during the week.

The report further notes that during the July–September quarter of 2024, 70 percent of households used smartphones, indicating a 2 percent rise in the subsequent quarter. However, individual internet usage saw marginal improvement, increasing from 46 percent in the previous quarter to just over 47 percent in October–December.

According to the survey, 64 percent of households with electricity watch television, 15 percent listen to radio, and 9 percent use computers. Only 3 percent have access to devices like desktops, laptops, or tablets.

While smartphone penetration continues to grow, internet adoption lags behind. As of December 2024, approximately 52.4 percent of households were direct internet users. In the prior quarter, the figure stood at 50.4 percent, suggesting that nearly half of all households across Bangladesh still remain outside the scope of internet services.

The survey reveals a significant rural-urban divide. In urban areas, 61.6 percent of households use the internet, compared to 48.2 percent in rural regions. On an individual level, overall internet usage across the country stands at just 47.2 percent.

Conducted across 2,568 locations, the survey gathered data from 61,632 households. BBS collected information from individuals aged five years and above in both urban and rural settings, focusing on their use of ICT services and devices. The findings are intended to support both national planning and international benchmarks, such as those required by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and the SDG Tracker.

The survey covered various indicators, including household-level access to radio, television, computers, mobile phones, smartphones, and internet usage, as well as individual ownership and use of these devices.

In terms of computer use, only 3.8 percent of rural and 20.7 percent of urban residents reported usage. Desktop usage stands at 2.9 percent, while 3.1 percent use laptops or tablets. Among urban users, 7 percent use laptops, and 7.8 percent use tablet PCs.

Regarding individual internet users, 77.1 percent in urban areas and 74.1 percent in rural areas go online at least once a day. Additionally, 19 percent in rural areas and 17.6 percent in urban areas use the internet at least once a week, though less frequently than daily. A further 7 percent in rural and 5.3 percent in urban areas do not use the internet even once a week.

Notably, although fixed broadband remains the ITU-recognized standard for internet connectivity, the survey did not separately report its coverage among the eleven ICT indicators published.