Digital Skills in Northern Ireland 2022/23

Date published: 30 November 2023

The latest Digital Skills in Northern Ireland publication was released at 9:30am today.

The latest Digital Skills in Northern Ireland publication was released at 9.30am today. This paper examines the level of digital skills of adults (16 and over) in Northern Ireland, as sourced from the Continuous Household Survey. Additional analysis of digital skills levels is also provided for sex, age, labour market status, deprivation quintile (least and most deprived), highest qualification level, and disability status.

Key points:

• Over two-fifths of people aged 16 and over in Northern Ireland had an above basic level of digital skills in 2022/23 (44% or 663,000 people).
• Almost one in five people (18%) had no digital skills (276,000 people).
• A higher proportion of females reported having no digital skills (21%), and a lower proportion reported having basic digital skills (36%) when compared to males (15% and 40% respectively).
• Almost half (47%) of those aged 65 and over had no digital skills, compared to less than 10% of those aged 16 to 49.
• Over a third (34%) of those who were economically inactive had no digital skills.
• The least deprived areas in NI had a higher proportion (58%) of above basic digital skills when compared to the most deprived areas (34%).
• Over half (55%) of respondents with no qualifications reported having no digital skills, compared to 5.9% of those with at least degree level qualifications.
• The proportion of people with no disabilities reporting above basic digital skills was 14 percentage points (pps) higher than those with disabilities.

The statistical bulletin and associated tables are available on the Digital Skills in Northern Ireland 2022/23 page.