The proportion of people using social media also increased from 76.5 per cent in 2024 to 80.3 per cent last year. — Photo dantri.com.vn

HÀ NỘI — More than 80 per cent of Việt Nam's population used smartphones last year, reflecting the country's growing digital connectivity, according to the National Statistics Office (NSO) under the Ministry of Finance.

The office's 2025 household living standards survey showed that 87.3 per cent of the population used mobile phones, up 2.5 percentage points from 84.8 per cent in 2024. Of those, 80.3 per cent used smartphones, while the proportion of people using feature phones fell to 8.5 per cent.

The survey found that mobile phones, particularly smartphones, have become an essential part of daily life in Việt Nam, resulting in only small differences in mobile phone usage across population groups and geographical areas.

Household internet access also continued to expand. The survey showed that 93.3 per cent of households had internet connections, while 87.1 per cent of the population used the internet, up 0.8 and 2.9 percentage points, respectively, from 2024.

The proportion of people using social media also increased from 76.5 per cent in 2024 to 80.3 per cent last year, highlighting the growing role of the internet and social media as essential infrastructure for communication, information, entertainment and social interaction. Meanwhile, 27.4 per cent of households owned a computer.

Despite rising digital adoption, the survey found that information technology (IT) skills remained largely at a basic level. Only 21.5 per cent of the population had advanced digital skills, posing a significant challenge to the country's goal of developing a highly skilled digital workforce.

The 2025 household living standards survey covered 46,995 households nationwide, representing urban and rural areas, six socio-economic regions and all 34 centrally governed provinces and cities.

The survey collected information on income, demographics, education, healthcare, employment, durable goods, housing, electricity, water supply, sanitation, and access to information and communication technologies. — VNS