The number of Internet users in Algeria is estimated at 4.5 million – around 12.8 per cent of the population – new data shows. Three-quarters of the country’s Internet users describe the ’net as an indispensable tool, and 90 per cent claim they are online daily for an average of two hours.

Algerian men (74.2%) use the Internet more often than women (25.8%) and six out of ten Internet users are below the age of 40.

Two-thirds of web users have a university-level education of at least BAC+1, while almost 70 per cent are employed and 19 per cent are students.

The survey – conducted by web consulting group Med& Com and online polling group Ideaticon, on popular websites and in a mailing to 7,000 people – garnered almost 6,000 responses. It revealed that just over half the Internet users live in the centre of the country, with 29 per cent located in Algiers.

Among the popular online activities, 82.6 per cent use email, 42.5 per cent use instant messaging services, 33.8 per cent visit discussion forums, 33 per cent use Internet telephony and 9.9 per cent use video conferencing.

More than 80 per cent read news and newspapers online, 19.9 per cent listen to the radio and 11.4 per cent watch TV. Almost 60 per cent use social networking sites, with Facebook by far the most popular.

Almost two-thirds said they use the Internet from home, while another quarter connect from work and 6.5 per cent use Internet cafes or youth centres, the figures show.