The survey conducted on a sample of one thousand respondents indicates that 64% of the Croatian population older than 15 uses the Internet.
Compared to countries in the region, 63% of citizens in Bosnia and Herzegovina use the Internet, 65% in Serbia and 67% in Macedonia, while more than 80% do so in Slovenia.
The use of the Internet in Croatia varies depending on the age of users, so that 3% of the youngest users (aged 15-24) do not use the Internet, while this figure is 7% among those aged 25-34. Only 10% of the population over 65 uses the Internet.
GfK stresses that the growth in the number of people using the Internet over the past few years has slowed down, while there is a growing number of people using various services offered over the net such as online shopping.
At the end of 2010, only 6% of Croatians bought online. In just two years, that number has quadrupled to 23%.
Users aged 15-24 are the most frequent online buyers, with 44% doing so, while 39% of those aged 25-34 shop online. This number is higher amongst people with a higher education.
GfK notes that recently so-called group shopping is becoming increasingly popular.