Statistics Finland

Social Statistics

FI_00022 Statistics Finland

The EU survey on the use of ICT in households and by individuals is an annual survey conducted since 2002. In [Finland], it has been conducted since [2002].

In 2022, the survey collects data on the access to information and communication technologies (ICT), on the use of the internet, e-government, e-commerce, internet of things, as well as green ICT.

National language:

Väestön tieto- ja viestintätekniikan käyttö

Befolkningens användning av informations- och kommunkationsteknik

English:  Use of information and communications technology by individuals 

Questionnaires in national language(s) and the translation in English are available in the Annexes.

The following common concepts and definitions apply under the Integrated European Social Statistics (IESS):

• the International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED) 2011 published in the following breakdowns: low (ISCED levels 0-2: no formal education, primary education or lower secondary education), medium (ISCED levels 3-4: upper secondary or post-secondary non-tertiary education) and high (ISCED levels 5-6: tertiary programmes which normally need a successful completion of ISCED 3 or 4, or second-stage tertiary education leading to an advanced research qualification);
• the International Standard Classification for Occupation ISCO-08 at the 2-digit level;
• the Classification of Economic Activities (NACE Rev.2-2008), at section level;
• the Common classification of territorial units for statistics (NUTS 1) – finer granularity of NUTS 2 is provided on optional basis by some Member states;
• the SCL - Geographical code list;
• information about household income is provided at lower level of detail. 

Additional classifications used in the national questionnaire: None

The ICT survey in households and by individuals covers those households having at least one member in the age group 16 to 74 years old. Internet access of households refers to the percentage of households that have an internet access, so that anyone in the household could use the internet.

No deviations.

The survey is collecting data of internet users, individuals who have used the internet in the three months prior to the survey. Regular internet users are individuals who used the internet, on average, at least once a week in the three months prior to the survey.

This annual survey is used to benchmark ICT-driven developments, both by following developments for core variables over time and by looking in greater depth at other aspects at a specific point in time. While the survey initially concentrated on access and connectivity issues, its scope has subsequently been extended to cover a variety of subjects (for example, the use of e-government and e-commerce) and socio-economic analysis (such as regional diversity, gender specificity, differences in age, education and the employment situation). The scope of the survey with respect to different technologies is also adapted so as to cover new product groups and means of delivering communication technologies to end-users.

For more details on the methodology applicable in each survey year, please consult the Methodological Manual for the respective year on CIRCABC - Methodological Manual - Information society statistics (europa.eu).

Deviations from standard ICT concepts: None.

Households and Individuals

In the ICT usage survey, the target population for the different statistical units is:

- individuals: all individuals aged 16 to 74;

- households: all (private) households with at least one member aged 16 to 74. 

Target population composed of households and/or individuals:

• Number of households: 2.5 million
• Number of individuals:  4.0 million

Non-compulsory age groups also included in the target population:

All parts of the country covered.

Year 2022

Not applicable

Percentages of ‘Households’ and Percentages of ‘Individuals’

Main reference period is last three months before filling the web-questionnaire or answering to the phone interview. 
Consequently, in practice it varies from (start) beginning of mid-January 2022 - end of March 2022 (end) to (start) beginning of March 2022 – end of June 2022 (end).
On average it is the first quarter of the year 2022.

The data collection started on 3 April 2022 and ended on 28 June 2022.

The legal basis for the 2022 EU survey on the use of ICT in households and by individuals is the Regulation (EU) 2019/1700 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 10 October 2019 establishing a common framework for European statistics relating to persons and households, based on data at individual level collected from samples (OJ  L 261 I, 14.10.2019, p. 1), as implemented by the Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/1223 of 27 July 2021 specifying the technical items of the data set, establishing the technical formats for transmission of information and specifying the detailed arrangements and content of the quality reports on the organisation of a sample survey in the use of information and communication technologies domain for reference year 2022 pursuant to Regulation (EU) 2019/1700 of the European Parliament and of the Council (OJ L 2269, 27.07.2021, pp. 1-45).

Complementary national legislation constituting the legal basis for the survey on the use of ICT in households and by individuals: 

The compilation of statistics is guided by the Finnish general act of the national statistical service, the Statistics Act (280/2004,amend. 361/2013).

Micro data or unit-level data are available from Statistics Finland Research Services for scientific studies and statistical surveys. The Research Services offer ready-made data and tailoring of data according to research need. Data are available in individual databases in a variety of ways. The data, their tailoring and remote access are subject to charge. Exchange of data of the ICT survey between data producing agencies has not been practised. Statistical legislation and data protection and confidentiality practices specified in legislation are applied in compiling and releasing the data. The releasing of data is subject to a user licence

The data protection of data collected for statistical purposes is absolutely guaranteed in accordance with the Statistics Act (280/2004), the Personal Data Act (532/1999) and the Act on the Openness of Government Activities (621/1999), as well as the requirements of the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (2016/679).

The data materials are protected at all stages of processing with the necessary physical and technical solutions. Statistics Finland has compiled detailed directions and instructions for confidential processing of the data. Employees have access only to the data essential for their duties. The premises where unit-level data are processed are not accessible to outsiders. Members of the personnel have signed a pledge of secrecy upon entering the service. Wilful breaching of data protection is punishable.

Statistics Finland’s release calendar lists in advance all the statistical data and publications to be released over the year. Statistical releases can be found under statistics-specific releases. Statistical data are released on the Internet at 8.00, unless otherwise indicated. The calendar is updated on weekdays. Statistics Finland’s release calendar for the coming year is published every year in December.

The outputs were published on 22 December 2022. 

Future releases of the statistics on the use of information and communications technology in households and by individuals.

The data is released to all users at the same time. The release date is provided in the release calendar.

Annual

A news release is published in Finnish when the data is released. A shorter release is published in Swedish and in English.

Analytical articles will be published in early 2023.

The results will be available in a database when the data is published.

The data is not available on a database. 

The microdata is available for research purposes.

Not available

Not available

Quality and methodology report of the data is published yearly when the results are published, in Finnish and English and Swedish. 

Not available

The quality and methodology report of the data is published yearly when the results are published, in Finnish and partly in English and Swedish. 

The ICT statistics are official statistics. The Official Statistics of Finland (OSF) is a comprehensive collection of statistics describing the development and state of society. They comprise nearly 300 sets of statistics on 26 different topics. The producers of Official Statistics of Finland have approved a common quality assurance in which they commit to common quality criteria and quality assurance measures. The quality criteria of Official Statistics of Finland are compatible with the European Statistics Code of Practice. The good practices followed in the statistics are presented in Statistics Finland’s Quality Guidelines for Official Statistics handbook.

When compiling statistics, Statistics Finland observes the European Statistics Code of Practice (CoP) and the Quality Assurance Framework (QAF) based on them. The Code of Practice concerns the independence and accountability of statistical authorities and the quality of processes and data to be published. The principles are in line with the Fundamental Principles of Official Statistics approved by the United Nations Statistics Division and are supplementary to them. The quality criteria of Official Statistics of Finland are also compatible with the European Statistics Code of Practice. The principles are also compatible with those of the European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM).

More information about this is available on Statistics Finland’s quality management pages.

Every year Statistics Finland conducts statistical auditing that helps to ensure the quality of statistics.

The overall quality of the statistical outputs of the survey is good. The statistical outputs are relevant, because main policy and other information needs have been taken into account in planning of the survey. The outputs are also accurate as measurement errors have been minimized with good quality questions and non-response is still quite small. The outputs are timely – the results are published with no major time lag. The data is also delivered to Eurostat according to the schedule. The outputs are comparable over time and geographically. The data is also internally coherent.

The data is used nationally by public administration, the media, enterprises, trade and other associations, educational institutes and research institutes. The data is used for information society development, policy design and monitoring, research, teaching and business.

Feedback on user satisfaction is got from an expert group consisting of users in ministries, enterprises, universities etc.

All variables required are included in the microdata.

100

The accuracy of data collected with a sample survey is affected by measurement errors, non-response and the random variation attributable to the sample. Measurement errors may arise if questions can be understood and interpreted in different ways or if the respondents do not give the requested information. The means by which measurement errors are reduced are the careful planning of the questionnaire forms, testing the form and interviewer training.

The survey’s non-response is classified into unit non-response and item non-response or partial non-response. Unit non-response means that target persons cannot be interviewed at all because they cannot be reached or refuse to be interviewed. Weighting coefficients can be used to correct unit non-response. Item non-response refers to question-specific non-response. In such cases an interview has been conducted but data are missing in certain questions because the interview was interrupted or the interviewee refused to respond.

The estimation method used to calculate the random variation of an estimator is Taylor linearization. The method used to account for the effect of calibaration of variation is Deville and Särndal method (1992).  As rotating samples and imputation are not used, methods taking into account their effect on precision estimates are needed.

Precision estimates for the question "Individuals having ordered goods or services for private use over the internet in the last 12 months" (individuals who ticked 'Within the last 3 months' or 'Between 3 months and a year ago' in question D1 of the 2022 model questionnaire):

Number of respondents (absolute value for ‘Yes’ answers): 1789

Estimated proportion (in %): 77  

Standard error (in percentage points):   0.9

Details of the breakdowns are available in the file 'FI ICT 2022 HH metadata annexes' in the Annexes. 

See more details on non-sampling error below.

The frame used in drawing the sample is the Population Information System of Statistics Finland, which was updated three times a year. The sample was drawn right after an update of the frame. From 2022 onwards the frame will be updated every month which will decrease the over coverage.

Statistics Finland produces its population information system from the official population system of the Digital and Population Data Services Agency, which is used throughout Finnish society’s information services and management, including public administration, elections, taxation, judicial administration, research, and statistics. The population systems are of high quality. The very small over coverage encountered is due to the fact that small number of individuals in the sample decease after drawing the sample and before the data collection.

0.004 %

Not requested in the ICT survey.

1)       Measurement errors: 

No such measurement errors were encountered.

2)       Questionnaire design and testing: 

Questionnaire was designed carefully. Where necessary different versions of question were designed for both data collection modes (CATI and CAWI). The questionnaire was produced in the two national languages of Finland (Finnish and Swedish).

3)       Interviewer training:  

Interviewers were trained before start of the interviews. Several interviewers had done interviews of the survey also in previous years

4)       Proxy interview rates: 

Proxy interviews are not used.

Information about non-respondents:  

Persons aged 16-34 and persons with low education are more probable not to answer to the survey than others.

The unit response rate is the ratio of the number of in-scope respondents (= the number of achieved interviews or the net sample size to the number of eligible elements selected from the sampling frame).

Unit non-response rate for

• Households:  52.98 %
• Individuals (aged 16-74): 55.55 % 
  

 Comments, if any:

1)       Methods used for dealing with unit non-response: 

Advance notifications were sent to all persons in the sample prior to data collection. Reminders were used to remind those who had not answered. Advance notifications and reminder are used to motivate responent to participate. Respondents who had not answered to the calls were called several times.

2)       Methods used for minimizing unit non-response:  

No such methods were used.

3)       Substitution permitted:  Not used.

4)       Substitution rate (in %):  0 

Items with low response rates (observed rates in %):  None

No serious processing errors have been encountered in the survey. All phases in the process are checked both by researchers responsible for the survey and experts who have carried out the phase (questionnaire programmer, SAS programmer building the data etc.). Very little editing and imputing is needed; thus, they do not create a big risk for process mistakes. To prevent mistakes more time is used in programming, which allows more time to check the results.

Not requested for ICT Survey

22.12.2022

7 days

7 days

No problems

Not relevant

Possible limitations in the use of data for comparisons over time: 

There has been no changes.

The length of comparable time series depends on the module and variable considered within each of the modules of the survey.

Not applicable

Not applicable

Not applicable

All statistics are coherent within the dataset

MANDATORY questions in the Eurostat model questionnaire 2022:

The table in the file 'FI ICT 2022 HH metadata annexes' in the Annexes lists the questions that do not reflect the coverage of subjects and characteristics of Annex 2 of the Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2021/1898 of 20 July 2021. 

Adoption of OPTIONAL questions and items in the Eurostat model questionnaire 2022:

The table in the file 'FI ICT 2022 HH metadata annexes' in the Annexes lists the optional questions from the annual Eurostat model questionnaire 2022 included in the national questionnaire and their coverage for age groups beyond the standard scope. 

Additional questions introduced in the national questionnaire:

National questions about type of internet connection used, frequency of use of social networking services, money spent on buying goods, online services and other services.

Effects of deviations from the routing used in the Eurostat model questionnaire:  

No deviations.

Preliminary data is not published.

Preliminary data is not published. The data is always final. 

The only instance when revised data has been published in previous years relates to slight reform of weighting. When calculation of weights was reformed, data of the previous year was reweighted and the results published as a revision.

Not relevant

The source of the raw data is described with more details in the paragraphs below.

The sample is drawnf from the Population Information System of Statistics Finland. The sample is not drawn from another survey sample.

The Finnish Population Information System is a computerised national register that contains basic information about Finnish citizens and foreign citizens residing in Finland on a permanent or temporary basis.

The information in the system is used throughout Finnish society’s information services and management, including public administration, elections, taxation, judicial administration, research and statistics. Businesses and other private organisations can also gain access to the information. Basic information related to the identification of people and buildings is registered in the Population Information System.
Personal data recorded in the system includes:

• name
• personal identity code
• address
• citizenship
• native language
• family relations
• date of birth and death (if applicable).

The survey is a stand alone survey. The survey is voluntary. There are no known shortcoimng in terms of timeliness.

The sampling used is simple random sampling with one stage and no stratification.

Sampling unit is individual.

One individual in household is interviewed. 

There is no longitudinal component in the survey.

Annual

1) Methods used to gather data: 

CAWI and CAPI

2) Short description of the survey method: 

A mixed mode data collection, where respondents can choose between filling a web questionnaire (CAWI) or answering in a phone interview (CAPI).
80 % of interviews resulted from CAWI and 20 % from CAPI.

3) Variables completed from an external source: 

No variables were completed from external sources.

The data of the statistics are validated in many stages during the statistical process. During the processing of the data, the high quality of the data is ensured through various statistical verification programs as well as by comparing the data with previous comparable statistics and other data sources. Checks are programmed into the questionnaire that prevent illogical aswer combinations and unanswered questions. Following the data collection, the data are checked. Incomplete responses and other invalid observations are removed.

No imputation is done.

Data for some socio-demographic background variables is taken from registers. This is done already in formation of the sample.
The data are weighted to correspond to the population and households in the entire country, accounting for non-response. Individual weighting, the numbers of both respondents and the population are tabulated according to sex, age, level of education, native language, region and the statistical grouping of municipalities.

For the target indicator "Individuals having ordered goods or services for private use over the internet in the last 12 months" (individuals who ticked 'Within the last 3 months' or 'Between 3 months and a year ago' in question D1 of the 2022 model questionnaire):

Imputation rate (% of observations): 0

Imputation rate (share of estimate): 0

Methods used to impute item non-response:  None

Grossing up procedures have been applied to:  Individuals and households

Description of the weighting procedures:

Individuals:

Design weights were calculated by dividing population size by the number of respondents. Calibration weights were calculated using design weights as starting weights in calibration. Following register variables were used in calibration: level of education, language, region (NUTS 3) and a combination of age group and gender.

Households:

Inclusion probabilities were calculated as follows: prob = the number of people aged 16 and over in the household / (population size / number of respondents)

Design weights were inverse of the inclusion probabilities. Calibration weights were calculated using design weights as starting weights in calibration. Following register variables were used in calibration: the size of the household and region (NUTS3).

Not relevant

Not relevant