Chapter 18 – Internet Use

Under Federal funding, the CNMI’s Central Statistics Division has collected random samples of broadband internet use in recent years.  In the 2014 Broadband survey, when the sample was weighted to the 2010 census count, about 88 percent of CNMI population had access to the internet.  The percentages were similar for the islands – 88 percent on Saipan and Rota and 85 percent on Tinian.  

Young people were the most likely to use the internet – about 90 percent of those younger than 30, the same for those 30 to 44, but decreasing to 83 percent for those 45 to 59, 70 percent for those 60 to 74 and 60 percent for those 75 years and over.

Koreans were the most likely to use the internet, at 96 percent, followed by Filipinos and Chinese at 89 per-cent, Chamorros and FAS migrants at 87 percent, and Carolinians at 80 percent.  All of these show high usage of the internet and the importance of its use for communication and education in the Common-wealth.  

Those speaking English at home were the most likely of language speakers to use the internet, at 92 per-cent, followed by Other Asians at 88 percent, Tagalog (Filipino) speakers at 87 percent, Chamorros at 82 percent, and Carolinian speakers at 76 percent.

In general, more educated adults were also more likely to use the internet.  While less than 88 percent of those with high school diplomas or less used the internet, about 97 percent of those with Bachelor’s de-grees, 99 percent of those with some graduate work, and 94 percent of those with graduate degrees were using the internet.

For labor force participation, about 90 percent of full-time and 84 percent of part-time workers were using the internet.  About 90 percent of more of students used the internet, while the unemployed were about 80 percent and retired people were about 75 percent.