A bar graph illustrates the proportion of households that had internet access in urban/suburban and rural areas between 1999 and 2004.
Overall, it is clear that urban/suburban household internet access recorded the highest figures in every individual year, while rural areas had the lowest. Significant differences existed between the categories.
At the beginning of the period, around 15% of urban and suburban households had internet access, compared with almost zero in rural areas. By 2000, urban access increased significantly to 30%, while rural areas increased slightly to 5%. This trend continued in 2001, with urban households reaching to 40% and rural households climbing to around 10%.
From 2002 onwards, both groups continued to show growth. Urban households rose sharply to about 50% in 2002 and further to 55% in 2004. In contrast, rural households grew more gradually, rising from 15% in 2002 to around 35% in 2004. By the end of the period, urban/suburban households internet access remained the highest, although rural access had also climbed substantially, reducing the gap between the two areas.
