Information from the Statistics and Census Service indicated that the rate of usage of Information Technology (IT) in the business sector reached 47% in 2008, up by 4 percentage points from 2007. Analyzed by industry, rate of IT usage of Wholesale and Retail Trade (43%) surged significantly by 7 percentage points year-on-year; besides, that of the Gaming Sector stood at 100%, Travel Agencies at 97%, while Restaurant sector was 29%. Analyzed by size of establishment or enterprise, rate of IT usage of those with 100 or more workers reached 99%, as against just 42% of the small-size establishments or enterprises with less than 10 workers. In 2008, among the establishments or enterprises using IT, 80% have connected to the Internet and the major purposes of accessing the Internet included information search (39%) and purchasing (17%). In addition, 76% of the households possessed IT equipment or devices such as computer, Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), etc., with 55% of the male aged 3 or over were computer-users and 51% had access to the Internet. Analyzed by gender, the respective rates of the female were lower, at 51% and 47% respectively. Analyzed by age group, 90% of those aged 15-24 were computer-users and 89% had access to the Internet. Analyzed by educational attainment, the rate of computer usage and Internet usage for those with tertiary education was 88% and 86% respectively. In respect of the location of accessing to the Internet, the majority were at home (91%) or at work (26%); the major purposes of accessing to the Internet included information search (87%), communication (84%) and government services (46%). Data on IT usage in the business sector is obtained from the annual survey on different economic activities; data on the IT usage of household is collected by using a supplementary questionnaire in the Employment Survey, interviewing all individuals aged 3 or above. Respective data on IT usage helps to obtain better understanding on the popularity and development of IT in the community.
