2008 Status Report
Digital Divide in Taiwan
Linked, Interconnected, Always-on: A Digital Network Society for All
Taiwan Online
2008 Status Report: Digital Divide in Taiwan
Preface
I
n its latest annual report “2007 World Information Society” the International
Telecommunications Union (ITU) analyzes the development and trends in different nations of
infrastructure, opportunities, and applications. Taiwan ranked 7th out of 181 nations.
In spite of Taiwan’s impressive progress in the field of information technologies, it is inevitable
that differences appear along the process of development in terms of technology hardware,
Internet applications, and related activities due to different implementation timelines for different
groups of people. These differences have earned the term “digital divide.”
In order to bridge such a divide, the Taiwan government in 2004 included “Bridging the
Digital Divide Plan” into the “eTaiwan Program” and considered it a priority policy. Research,
Development and Evaluation Commission, Executive Yuan performs surveys on digital divide
on an annual basis, that trace the differences in digital development among different social groups
in Taiwan. The research and survey methodology use current social and scientific standards. This
book summarizes the progress and current status of measures that seek to bridge the digital divide
for each county/ city, gender, generation and group with special needs in Taiwan, in the year 2008.
What is Digital Divide?
According to the definition made by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and
Development (OECD), the term "digital divide" refers to the gap between individuals,
households, businesses and geographic areas at different socio-economic levels with regard to
both their opportunities to access information and communication technologies (ICTs) and to their
use of the Internet for a wide variety of activities (OECD, 2001).
●
Digital Divide by County/ City refers to the difference in the people’s opportunities to access
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Taiwan Online
2008 Status Report: Digital Divide in Taiwan
computers, the Internet and other information technology equipment, as well as their ability to use
the Internet in each administrative region (the 25 counties or cities in Taiwan).
●
Digital Divide by Gender refers to the difference between males and females to access
computers, the Internet and other information technology equipment.
●
Digital Divide by Generation refers to the difference in each age group of access to computers,
the Internet and other information technology equipment.
●
Digital Divide for People with Special Needs refers to the difference among people with
disabilities or those who suffer from various disorders access computers, the Internet and other
information technology equipment, as well as their abilities to use the Internet.
Methodology
Survey Groups: residents in the 25 counties or cities in Taiwan, over age 12
Survey Method: Phone Interview
Survey Period: July 18th, 2008 ~ September 3rd, 2008
Sample Size: 16,131 residents over 12 years old in Taiwan
Sample Deviation: at 95% confidence interval, the overall sample deviation is within ±0.8%,
in each county or city, the sample deviation is within ±4.0%
To view full article, please visit www.rdec.gov.tw
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2005-2008 report on computer use in Taiwan households
85% of households own a computer,
a historical high!
During the 2008 survey on digital divide, the digital infrastructure in Taiwan was close to
completion, with the penetration rate of computers and Internet access increasing every year. For
every 100 households, 85 own a computer, and 78 of them have access to the Internet at home,
and high figure in Taiwan.
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Taiwan Online
2008 Status Report: Digital Divide in Taiwan
Taiwan’s online population reached its highest point from 2006-2008
68.5% of the population
having access to the Internet
Among people over 12 years old, 73.4% use computers, 68.5% have access to the Internet,
both significantly increased by 2.4% and 2.9%, respectively, from 2007. Research shows that
currently there are 14.69 million computer users and 13.71 million Internet users in Taiwan.
4
e-Services provided by the Government
80.4% of citizens know about those government sites
Eighty percent of Internet users over 12 years old know about public service websites of the
government. Among those who know, 45.6% never used any of the e-services before, 22.2%
have searched the Internet for information, 10.8% processed applications through government
websites, and 21.4% have used both services.
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Digital Divide by County/ City
Computer penetration rate in Taiwan:
84.6% of all households own a computer
90.3 Taipei City
79.8 Lienchiang
79.0 Kinmen
73.0 Penghu
88.4
89.0 Taoyuan Taipei
Hsinchu City
90.3
90.3
Hsinchu
Yilan
Miaoli 87.8
80.6
79.6
Taichung City Taichung
Among the 25 counties/ cities in
85.1
Changhua 79.0
Yunlin 70.7
85.2 Chiayi City
Taiwan, in Taipei City, Taipei County,
Nantou
Hualien
74.5
75.8
Chiayi
78.5
73.3
rate. Households in Chiayi County,
Taitung
74.6
Kaohsiung City
85.9
Pingtung
77.7
Taichung City households, 88 out of
five in terms of computer literacy
Kaohsiung
81.5
Taoyuan County, Hsinchu City and
100 own computers. They rank top
Tainan
87.3 Tainan City
Keelung 85.7
Penghu County and Yunlin County
have slightly lower computer and
Internet literacy rates; 74 households
out of 100 own a computer.
above 85% 85%～80% 80%～70% 70%～60%
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Computer and Internet literacy:
73.4% people know how to use computers
79.9 Taipei City
73.1 Lienchiang
68.8 Kinmen
62.1 Penghu
79.0
77.6 Taoyuan Taipei
Hsinchu City
77.4
80.2
Hsinchu
Yilan
Miaoli 74.3
69.5
69.9
Taichung City Taichung
Computer literacy rate is highest in
74.0
Changhua 68.1
Yunlin 61.0
76.1 Chiayi City
Nantou
67.8
Chiayi
63.6
61.2
75.6
Pingtung
65.3
69.3
County, Hsinchu County, Taichung
City, Chiayi City, Tainan City and
computer. People in Yunlin County
Taitung
69.8
Kaohsiung City
Hualien
over 12 years old, 3 have used a
Kaohsiung
69.0
Taipei City, Taipei County, Taoyuan
Kaohsiung City. Of every 4 people
Tainan
75.3 Tainan City
Keelung 74.5
and Chiayi County have lower
computer usage. But their penetration
rates exceeded 60% for the first time
in 2008
above 75% 75%～70% 70%～60% 60%～50%
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Digital Divide by County/ City
Rate of household Internet connection:
77.5% of households have Internet access at home
86.0 Taipei City
74.1 Lienchiang
71.2 Kinmen
64.4 Penghu
82.6
82.5 Taoyuan Taipei
Hsinchu City
83.4
83.2
Hsinchu
Yilan
Miaoli 81.2
71.8
72.2
Taichung City Taichung
Changhua 69.7
Yunlin 63.0
76.0 Chiayi City
Nantou
65.9
Chiayi
64.6
78.3
Pingtung
69.5
68.4
County and Taichung City can access
the internet at home. On the contrary,
and Penghu County have access
Taitung
66.9
Kaohsiung City
Hualien
Yunlin County, Chiayi County
Kaohsiung
74.3
County, Hsinchu City, Hsinchu
less than 65% of households in
Tainan
70.3
Over 80% of the households in
Taipei City, Taipei County, Taoyuan
77.1
79.8 Tainan City
Keelung 78.9
to the Internet at home. There is a
considerable gap in development
progress between the urban areas and
rural areas.
above 80% 80%～70% 70%～60% 60%～50%
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Rate of Internet usage:
68.5% of residents use the Internet
75.5 Taipei City
70.1 Lienchiang
64.5 Kinmen
58.0 Penghu
74.9
73.7 Taoyuan Taipei
Hsinchu City
72.6
75.9
Hsinchu
Yilan
Miaoli 69.6
64.0
63.3
Taichung City Taichung
Changhua 63.1
Yunlin 56.3
71.1 Chiayi City
Nantou
60.9
Chiayi
56.2
70.4
Pingtung
59.5
Hualien
63.8
respectively.
On the other hand, regions with
elderly residents and engaged in
Taitung
64.9
Kaohsiung City
Taichung City rank second and third,
than 60% are mostly those with more
Kaohsiung
64.3
highest Internet access rate among
personal Internet access rate lower
Tainan
58.6
People in Hsinchu City has the
all regions in Taiwan.Taipei City and
68.0
70.1 Tainan City
Keelung 70.8
agriculture or fishery. These include
Yunlin County, Chiayi County,
Tainan County, Pingtung County and
Penghu County.
above 75% 75%～70% 70%～60% 60%～50%
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Digital Divide by Gender
Information usage rate for men and women
More men than women, over 70% use computers
and have access to the Internet.
（hour）
3.0
2.9
hour
2.6
2.5
hour
Average Daily
2.0
Online Time
1.5
1.0
0.5
0.0
Men
Women
The 2008 Personal/ Household Digital Divide Survey Report shows that among women
over 12 years old in Taiwan, 71.9% use computers and 66.2% have access to the Internet. In
comparison, 74.8% of men over 12 years old in Taiwan use computers and 70.7% have access to
the Internet. The usage rate of information technology for women in Taiwan falls behind men by
3 ~ 5 percent.
In addition, because women need to spend time in housework or other tasks, female users over 12
years old in Taiwan on average spend 2.6 hours on the Internet, almost 20 minutes less than male users.
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Men and women participating in online activities
Women browse blogs; shop online, more than men
Use e-mail
86.6 %
86.2 %
Life Information
85.5 %
86.6 %
Jobs or Study
79.7 %
81.2 %
Blogs
75.6 %
80.1 %
73.9 %
74.8 %
Instant Messenger Software
70.8 %
65.8 %
Leisure Activities
61.7 %
56.1 %
Audio Visual Files
44.2 %
55.3 %
Shopping
34.2 %
35.7 %
Internet Phone
Online Banking
25.8 %
26.3 %
eLearning
24.2 %
27.7 %
P2P Software
22.6 %
Men
Women
Female Internet users have
higher tendencies than men to
browse blogs or shop online.
Male users mainly perform
online leisure activities,
browse audio visual files or use
Peer-to-Peer (P2P) software,
more than female users. For
other online activities, there
is no significant difference
between involvement of men
and women.
6.9 %
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Digital Divide by Generation
Computer literacy and Internet access for three age groups
At age 30, everyone uses a computer
and has access to the Internet
（%）99.3 97.5
92.5
100
80
60
（%）98.5
96.3
100
87.9
80
73.0
40
15.3
20
0
60
49.3
12~20 21~30 31~40 41~50 51~60 above 61
Rate of Computer Literacy
40
64.2
40.5
9.7
20
0
12~20 21~30 31~40 41~50 51~60 above 61
Rate of Internet Access
The digital divide in Taiwan is significant among different age groups. Almost every person
below 30 years old knows how to use computers and the Internet. From 30 to 40 years old,
computer literacy and Internet penetration rate exceed 80%. There is a gap for those over 40 and
the penetration rate drops significantly. For the 41~50 year-old age group, Internet access rate is
64.2%, for the 51~60 year-old age group, Internet access rate is just 40.5%. For those over 61
years old, it’s only 9.7%.
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Big generation gaps among those active in cyberspace
31~ 50 year-old citizens are the most active
on the Internet
Daily Life Information
Leisure Activities
（%）
93.3
100
80
88.6
78.5
82.8
89.9
88.0
83.0
79.7
59.9
60
46.3
40.5
40
36.5
20
0
12~20
21~30
31~40
41~50
51~60
above 61
Public Announcements and Policies
Online Applications
（%）
50
44.9
40
30
20
10
0
41.3
38.9
35.5
33.1
36.9
33.8
28.5
25.7
24.7
17.4
4.2
12~20
21~30
31~40
41~50
51~60
above 61
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Taiwan Online
Digital Divide by Generation
Instant Messenger
Online Shopping
Online Banking
（%）
100 92.4
90.7
69.1
80
66.5
60
40
20
0
34.3
31.7
59.8
37.6
52.7
41.7
26.7
44.3
41.8
26.2 23.4
23.8 20.3
6.5
12~20
21~30
31~40
41~50
51~60
above 61
The daily search for information through an Internet search engine is over 79% in every age
group, however, spending time on the Internet for leisure purposes is a popular activity among
age groups below 30.
Citizens between the ages of 35 and 50 are the most active users of the Internet. Over 40%
search public announcements and policies on government websites, almost 40% of them also
process applications online.
For younger age groups, communicating with friends via instant messaging and doing online
shopping have become part of their daily lives. However, when it comes to online banking,
people from 30 ~ 40 are still the majority.
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Digital Divide within Households of People with Special Needs
Penetration rate of Internet access for people with special needs
Falling behind the national
average by 1.8%
（%）
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
2007 2008
74.7 77.5
%
%
households of the
national
2007 2008
69.2 75.7
%
%
households of people
with special needs
Rate of Internet Access
（%）
80
70
73.4%
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
over age 12
30.4%
people with
special needs
Rate of Computer Literacy
households of
people with
special needs
Internet access rate for households of people with special needs is falling behind the national
average by 1.8%, however, the number has moved up a great deal in comparison with the
previous year.
Among those with special needs, only 30% have ever used computers. The ratio falls behind
the national average by 73.4%.
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Digital Divide within Households of People with Special Needs
Computer usage of people with special needs or mental disorders
People with hearing and balance functions disabilities
have the lowest rate of computer literacy
Among all people with disabilities, those with hearing
disabilities and functional disorders of balance have the
（%）
100 97.8
lowest information access; their computer literacy rate is
90
lower than 20%. On the contrary, people with light pervasive
82.0
80
developmental disorders (PDD) or High-Functioning Autism
70
have the highest computer literacy, 97.8%.
59.7
60
59.4
51.2
50
38.3
40
35.0
24.0
30
20.8
20.1
20
18.8
18.2
10
0
Light pervasive
developmental
disorders
(PDD) or HighFunctioning
Autism
Other
Disabilities
or Disorders
16
Light
Learning
Disabilities
Facial
Disfigurement
Refractory
Epilepsy
Voice
Disorders or
Disabilities
Physical
Disabilities
Multiple
Disabilities
Losing
Functions
of Primary
Organs
Hearing
Disabilities
Visual
Disabilities
Functional
disorder of
Balance
Research, Development and Evaluation Commission, Executive Yuan
http://www.rdec.gov.tw