How many people have internet access in the UK? Who is still offline, and why? We analyzed the latest Ofcom data to answer the questions about internet usage and connectivity in Britain.
Internet Access
How Many People Have Internet Access in the UK? (2025)
95% of the UK population aged 16 and over have access to the internet at home. 94% have access and actively use it.
49.1 million UK adults accessed the internet via smartphones, tablets, and computers in May 2025. That was up from 47.4 million in May 2024.
The 5% without home internet is unchanged from 2024, but down from 7% in 2022-2023. Internet access continues to expand, though a small group remains offline.
Sources: Ofcom Online Nations Report 2025, Ofcom Technology Tracker 2025, Ipsos iris
Who Does Not Have Internet Access in the UK? (2025)
13% of individuals aged 65 and over remain without home internet. Among those aged 75 and over, 20% do not have home internet.
Only 1-3% of those aged 16-54 lack home internet access.
The digital divide is overwhelmingly an age issue. Younger adults have near-universal connectivity, while a significant minority of older adults remain offline.
Sources: Ofcom Online Nations Report 2025
Why Don't Some People Have Internet Access? (2025)
81% of those aged 65 and over without internet said lack of interest or need was the reason they don't have it.
24% of those aged 65 and over without internet said someone else can go online for them, up from 19% in 2024. 97% of those aged 65 and over without internet stated they were unlikely to get it in the next 12 months.
Among all non-internet users, 81% were unlikely to get internet in the next 12 months.
Sources: Ofcom Online Nations Report 2025
Connection Types
How Do People Connect to the Internet at Home? (2025)
94% of UK households connect to the internet at home via fixed broadband.
3% depend exclusively on mobile network for home internet. Among 16-34 year olds, 5% rely solely on mobile phone connection for internet, while 90% use fixed broadband.
Sources: Ofcom Online Nations Report 2025
Affordability
Is Internet Access Affordable in the UK? (2024)
1.9 million UK households with fixed broadband found it difficult to afford their service in October 2024. 1.6 million households had difficulty affording their mobile phone service.
These figures decreased from 2.4 million for broadband and 2.4 million for mobile in October 2023. Affordability is improving, though nearly 2 million households still struggle.
Sources: Ofcom Online Nations Report 2024
Is Cost a Barrier to Internet Access? (2025)
18% of those without home internet cited cost-related reasons for not having it. This is down from 27% in 2023.
11% cited broadband set-up costs as a barrier, down from 18% in 2024. 5% cited monthly broadband cost as a barrier, down from 11% in 2024.
Cost barriers are declining, though for a meaningful minority they remain the primary obstacle to connectivity.
Sources: Ofcom Online Nations Report 2025
Mobile-Only Internet
How Many People Rely Only on Mobile Internet? (2025)
5% of 16-34 year olds rely solely on mobile phone connection for home internet access.
In 2024, 8% of 16-24 year olds relied solely on mobile, while 86% of that age group used fixed broadband. Overall, 3% of UK households depend exclusively on mobile network for home internet.
Younger adults are more likely to go mobile-only, though fixed broadband remains dominant across all age groups.
Sources: Ofcom Online Nations Report 2025, Ofcom Technology Tracker 2024
- [Ofcom Online Nations Report 2025](https://www.ofcom.org.uk/siteassets/resources/documents/research-and-data/online-research/online-nation/2025/online-nations-report-2025.pdf)
- [Ofcom Online Nations Report 2024](https://www.ofcom.org.uk/siteassets/resources/documents/research-and-data/online-research/online-nation/2024/online-nation-2024-report.pdf)
- Ofcom Technology Tracker 2025
- Ofcom Technology Tracker 2024
- Ipsos iris