Household annual survey on information and communication technologies 

Household ICT

The objective of the ICT household survey is to collect information describing household equipment and uses in the area of information and communication technologies (computers, fixed and mobile Internet).

For equipment, the survey seeks to measure computer equipment and Internet access.

For uses, it aims to measure the frequency, locations and types of uses (e-government and e-commerce) but also individual computer and Internet skills.

Some questions are not asked every year but every two or three years. Sometimes new questions are introduced to shed light on other aspects of the information and communication technology field. In 2023, a module on screen exposure was proposed. In 2024, the rotating or one-off themes are mainly connected objects, ecology and teleconsultation.

This survey responds to a request from the European Union on the use of ICT.

Each Member State has to provide Eurostat with around 130 indicators. Eurostat finances a part of the collection.

Each year, the survey is collected between March and June using a combination of three methods: internet, paper and telephone.

From 1996 to 2005, the Permanent Living Conditions Survey scheme (EPCV) has provided a yearly measurement of the proportion of households equipped with mobile telephones and microcomputers.

Since 1999, it has also tracked the internet access of households.

From 2001, a variable component of the Permanent Living Conditions Survey of households has been implemented : the "New Technologies" Survey. It has enabled to measure the distribution of different types of equipment at household and individual levels.

It has also covered, in a detailed manner, the use of the mobile telephone, Minitel system, microcomputer and internet, when broken down into places of use : home, work and school.

The last survey, conducted in October 2005 as a variable survey of the EPCV scheme, had the more specific aim of detailing the impact of ICTs on the living conditions of households, the skills of individuals (particularly in mobile telephony and the internet) and the sharing of equipment within a household.

In 2005 and 2006, the Household Economic Outlook Survey (CAMME) was used in the framework of "micro-platforms" in which the topic of ICT use was covered.

Since 2007, given the development of new  technologies, the household Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) Survey has become an annual stand-alone survey.

In 2020, the French edition of the ICT survey was canceled due to the Coronavirus pandemic.

Since 2021, collection has resumed at an annual frequency.

Survey

Annual