Staff Reporter
The 2020 Information Communication Technology (ICT) Access by Households and use by Individuals Survey conducted by the Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency (ZIMSTAT) in 2020 revealed a slight increase compared to the previous survey conducted in 2014.
This was revealed by ZIMSTAT Director General, Mr Taguma Mahonde on the Virtual Dissemination of the 2020 ICT Access by Households and use by Individuals Survey findings in Harare yesterday.
“The Survey revealed the countrywide proportion on households with a radio at home to be 62.7 percent, while in 2014 it was 60.7 percent. The results also showed that 97.2 percent of urban households and 85.0 percent of rural households, had access to mobile cellular telephone at home. Further, the proportion of individuals 3 years and above who had used their internet from any location in three months preceding the survey was 29.3 percent whereas in 2014, the proportion was 16.4 percent,” said Mr Mahonde.
He revealed that the target of the survey was private households in both rural and urban areas across the ten provinces of the country, with the results presented at national and provincial levels. He disclosed that a total of 10.325 households were selected for the survey to which 9.320 were successfully interviewed, giving a response rate of 90.3 percent.
Mr Mahonde noted that the 2020 Survey process was slowed down by the effects of Covid-19 pandemic.
“Due to the introduction of lockdown measures in March 2020, ZIMSTAT lost close to ten months of data collection time, which resulted in delayed data collection for the 2020 ICT Household Survey. Data processing was also prolonged due to Covid-19 lockdown restrictive measures limiting on the number of personnel to report to work,” he said.
The 2020 ICT Survey was the third of its kind to be conducted after the 2010 and 2014 rounds and the main objective of the Survey which was conducted from 16 November to 10 December 2020 was to collect data and produce statistics on ICT access by households and use by individuals, so as to determine the level of digital divide in the country.
According to Mr Mahonde, the survey findings can be used by various constituencies whose interest is on ICT sector, as they will be informed on areas to focus their interventions for the benefit of the entire nation.
ZIMSTAT in collaboration with and funding from the Postal and Telecommunication Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (POTRAZ) undertook the survey.
