A total 78.8 per cent of households in Malta and Gozo had access to the internet last year, the National Statistics Office said.

It said the proportion of users accessing the internet on a daily basis stood at 85.5 per cent.

The NSO said an estimated 80.3 per cent of households had computer access last year, while 78.8 per cent also benefitted from internet access.

The highest share of internet access in households was registered in the northern harbour district (83 per cent), while the lowest proportion was recorded in Gozo and Comino (73.1 per cent).

The number of users who made use of e-government services last year stood at 45.7 per cent, or 22.2 per cent lower than 2012. The majority of e-government users were males and fell within the 35 to 44 age cohorts.

E-Commerce activities were estimated at 66.3 per cent, equivalent to an increase of 5.6 percentage points over 2012.

Clothing and sports goods were the mostly acquired items over the internet (59.7 per cent).

These were followed by reading material and holiday accommodation, at 29.8 and 29.1 per cent, respectively.