Christy Balita
Research expert covering the Philippines
Internet usage in the Philippines - statistics & facts
The development of internet infrastructures in the Philippines has been instrumental in the growth of its internet population. An estimated 69 million Filipinos have access to the internet in 2023, up from roughly 48 million in 2018. Filipino internet users devote a significant amount of time online, averaging about nine hours daily. Growing demand for internet connectivity was expected to drive the nation’s digital economy, with significant measures implemented towards providing reliable and accessible internet connections.
In addition, efforts to boost connectivity resulted in improvements in internet quality. Based on the internet quality index by Surfshark in 2023, the Philippines grabbed the sixth spot in the region, with a score of 0.47 out of one. Regarding internet speed, the download, and upload speeds for fixed internet were about 92 Mbps as of November 2023. Meanwhile, mobile internet download speed reached about 28 Mbps, while upload speed was less than seven Mbps as of this period. The 5G network has also been rolled out nationwide, further improving the country’s internet infrastructure. In 2022, the average download speed of the 5G network was about nine times faster than 4G.
Filipinos also access the internet to consume entertainment content. In particular, Filipino internet users were the biggest consumers of vlogs, which was higher than the global average. Although they usually watch any kind of video, music, comedy, and viral videos were also popular types of video content. Online gaming has also seen increasing popularity recently, becoming a revenue-generating hobby for some.
Increased internet usage also changed the shopping and banking landscape in the Philippines. This has led to the growth of e-commerce expenditures as more Filipinos are accessing merchant’s websites or shopping apps to buy products or services on any device. Conversely, this initiated an increase in digital payment adaption, particularly the use of mobile wallets and QR payments.
The digital landscape of the Philippines
The nation's digital economy has indicated stable growth since 2018, with slight fluctuations during the pandemic years. The internet economy registered a gross value added of about 2.05 trillion Philippine pesos in 2023, representing 9.4 percent of the nation's gross domestic product (GDP). Among the key segments, e-commerce emerged as a growth leader, with an estimated gross merchandise value of 15 billion U.S. dollars in 2022 alone.In addition, efforts to boost connectivity resulted in improvements in internet quality. Based on the internet quality index by Surfshark in 2023, the Philippines grabbed the sixth spot in the region, with a score of 0.47 out of one. Regarding internet speed, the download, and upload speeds for fixed internet were about 92 Mbps as of November 2023. Meanwhile, mobile internet download speed reached about 28 Mbps, while upload speed was less than seven Mbps as of this period. The 5G network has also been rolled out nationwide, further improving the country’s internet infrastructure. In 2022, the average download speed of the 5G network was about nine times faster than 4G.
Popular activities of Filipino internet users
Among the various online activities, Filipino internet users spend most of their time using social media daily, which is the highest in the whole region. Among social networks, Meta’s Facebook and Facebook Messenger were the most popular social networking sites, followed by TikTok and Instagram. While such platforms are generally popular among the younger generation, Filipinos over the age of 34 are also active on social media sites.Filipinos also access the internet to consume entertainment content. In particular, Filipino internet users were the biggest consumers of vlogs, which was higher than the global average. Although they usually watch any kind of video, music, comedy, and viral videos were also popular types of video content. Online gaming has also seen increasing popularity recently, becoming a revenue-generating hobby for some.
Increased internet usage also changed the shopping and banking landscape in the Philippines. This has led to the growth of e-commerce expenditures as more Filipinos are accessing merchant’s websites or shopping apps to buy products or services on any device. Conversely, this initiated an increase in digital payment adaption, particularly the use of mobile wallets and QR payments.
