Communications industry facts and statistics
Facts and statistics on the communications sector, taken from Ofcom's research publications.
This information is correct as of 20 May 2022.
Internet use
Adults in the UK spent an average of
minutes (or 3 hours and 37 minutes) online each day in 2020
We also spent nearly
on, and in, mobile apps last year
UK online shopping sales rose by
to nearly £113 billion in 2020
In September 2020, young adults spent an average of
minutes on YouTube each day
of UK adults visited an adult website or app in September 2020
of people say they have been exposed to at least one potential harm online
For more information on these statistics, please see our Online Nation 2021 report.
TV, radio and other media
Adults in the UK spent a daily average of
minutes (or 5 hours and 40 minutes) watching TV and online video in 2020
By April 2021, streaming service providers were offering UK viewers a total of
hours of content
of the 30 most-watched titles on subscription services in the first quarter of 2021 were on Netflix
of UK adults listen to live radio via a DAB set
In the first quarter of 2021,
of adults claimed to have a smart speaker in their home
of adults listen to a podcast on a weekly basis
For more information on these statistics, please see our Media Nations 2021 report.
Broadband and mobile services
of UK homes can now get full fibre packages, which offer faster and more reliable internet
A 4G mobile signal is expected to be available in around
of the UK's landmass by December 2022
of UK homes can get Gigabit broadband – allowing you to download a HD movie in under a minute
For more information on these statistics, please see our Connected Nations: Spring 2022 update.
Postal services
UK parcels were delivered in 2021
of customers have experienced problems with deliveries in the last three months
Disabled customers are almost
more likely to experience significant problems with parcel deliveries
For more information on these statistics, please see our Annual Monitoring Report on the postal market.