Christy Balita
Research expert covering the Philippines
Internet usage in the Philippines - statistics & facts
Developments in internet infrastructures provided a better and more enhanced internet experience in the Philippines. It was estimated that the internet penetration rate stood at around 89 percent in 2024, with the majority of Filipinos using their mobile phones to access the web. The internet has since become an important aspect of everyday life, from making friends, researching brands, to entertainment, as well as for buying items and making payments online. This has significantly led to the growth of the GDP contribution of the digital economy in the Philippines, especially for the telecommunication services. However, online security issues continue to cause a significant strain on the internet usage of Filipinos.
Having spent the most amount of time online in the Asia-Pacific region, Filipino internet users consume various formats of online media, from social networking to video streaming, as well as making online purchases. Improved internet infrastructures and online security measures can be expected to boost the country's internet usage even further.
Social media's popularity in the Philippines
With more than eight and a half hours every day on average, Filipinos spend the most amount of time using the internet in the Asia-Pacific region. As of the third quarter of 2024, Filipinos were mostly on social media, especially Facebook and Facebook Messenger. While most of them stay on social media to keep in touch with friends and family, others use those sites to find content, read the news, and even find products to purchase. According to a survey in February 2023, Facebook and TikTok were the most used social networks for making a purchase in the Philippines.Consumption of online videos and vlogs
Aside from social media, most Filipinos also access the internet to consume entertainment content. Filipino internet users were the biggest consumers of vlogs, which was higher than the global average. Although they usually watch any kinds of videos, music, comedy, and viral videos were also popular types of video content.Threats to online security
As Filipinos spend more time connected to the internet, concerns about online security started to grow. As of the fourth quarter of 2024, Filipino consumers identified being frequently exposed to fraud schemes such as phishing, smishing, and money or gift card fraud. Increasing online shopping habits exposed more Filipinos to such fraud incidents, even threatening the vulnerability of the payment methods they use for such transactions. In 2024, victims who use the mobile wallet app GCash registered the highest amount lost in consumer fraud incidents, followed by those with a BPI account. Aside from individuals, businesses that started migrating their operations online also became increasingly exposed to cyber incidents.Having spent the most amount of time online in the Asia-Pacific region, Filipino internet users consume various formats of online media, from social networking to video streaming, as well as making online purchases. Improved internet infrastructures and online security measures can be expected to boost the country's internet usage even further.
