MANILA, July 21 (Xinhua) -- Almost half, or 48.8 percent, of the total households in the Philippines had access to the internet at home in 2024, according to a government survey released on Monday.

"This translates to an increase of 31.1 percentage points from the percentage of households with access to the internet at home in 2019, at 17.7 percent," said the 2024 National Information and Communications Technology Household Survey, conducted by the Philippine Statistics Authority and the Department of Information and Communications Technology.

Across regions, the National Capital Region and Central Luzon had the highest percentages of households with internet access at home, at 68.7 percent and 61.3 percent, respectively, the data showed.

Meanwhile, Zamboanga Peninsula and Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao in the southern Philippines reported the lowest percentages.

Among households with internet access at home, fixed-wired broadband network was the most commonly available type of connection, followed by mobile broadband network and fixed wireless broadband network. The least available type of connection was satellite broadband network.

In 2024, two out of three individuals aged 10 years and over reported using the internet at any location. This translates to 61.46 million individuals aged 10 years and over who had used the internet, the survey showed.

However, the high cost of internet subscriptions was the common reason for no access to the internet among households and the main reason for not using the internet among individuals, the survey said. ■