For the first time, the Israel Internet Association unveils the Israeli Internet Index, which provides detailed picture of the Israeli Internet (based on measurements and surveys), in terms of infrastructure and performance, websites, use and consumption habits for online services such as social media, apps and streaming.
In the arena of social media, YouTube, WhatsApp and Facebook maintain dominance (over 90% of the Israeli public uses each of them), together with a significant jump in penetration by TikTok, which about half of the Israeli public attested to using in the beginning of 2023, versus about 30% in the beginning of 2022. Also at the top of the table: Instagram – 70%, Telegram – 54%, and Twitter with 35%.
The list of international sites with the most hits by Israelis (using a browser on their computer and mobile phones) includes: Google, YouTube, Facebook, Wikipedia, WhatsApp, Twitter, Instagram, a site with content for adults only and Zoom.
The data revealed for the first time by the Israel Internet Association demonstrate that the majority of the Israeli public uses various online streaming services such as Netflix, Spotify and more. This is true both of non-urban and urban areas as well as the national-religious and secular publics. Sixty percent of Israelis use Netflix, 10% Disney+, 5% Apple TV, 3% Amazon Premium and 1% Discovery Plus. In music services, Spotify leads with 35%, followed by Apple Music with 8% and Deezer with just 1%.
Among the online television content suppliers: Hot leads with 20%, followed by Yes with 14% and Partner and Cellcom with 11% each.
The Internet supplier market in Israel is controlled mostly by the four major communications groups, while as of the beginning of 2023, the Bezeq-Pelephone Group commands the largest market share – approx. 28% of online traffic in Israel (wired + mobile) – followed by the Partner Group with 23%, Cellcom with 19%, and the Hot Group with 14%. The remainder of Israeli online traffic is divided between a large number of small Internet providers such as Mirs, 019, Xfone and more.
In terms of Internet infrastructures, it was found that as of the beginning of 2023, about 35% of Israeli households consume Internet at home using a wired optic fiber connection, and the rest use outdated DSL technology (27% of Israeli households) and cable technology (about 21% of households). Israel ranks low in the scope of actual consumption of advanced wired Internet infrastructures, whereas in most OECD countries the actual scope of fiber optic infrastructures over the past few years has exceeded 40% of households. However, Israel ranks high in the scope of availability of 4G cellular Internet technology, as the companies Cellcom, Hot, Partner and Pelephone are available over 95% of the time.
Internet use and work among Israelis is divided equally between computers (desktop and laptop) and cellular devices (tablets and cellphones). The leading browser in Israel, by far in the scope of use – is Chrome, with about 70% (wired + cellular). Other browsers are used by tiny percentages, the highest of which is Safari IOS with 8.8% use.
The report even examined how youths behave on the web – the data show that 49% of youths spend more than four hours a day in front of the screen, and a third of all youth stated that their screen time even exceeds six hours a day. The content they consume most was music and videos (70% responded this is their main online activity), and the second most highly-used activity was social networks (58%). The network they could not do without was Instagram first and foremost (41% of all respondents). In addition, about half of the youth testified that their parents do not talk to them at all, or rarely, about the risks inherent in the web.
About six months ago, the sphere of Hebrew web addresses was born, with the new country domain suffix “ישראל.”. Shortly after the launch, approx. 21,600 domain names were added, registered entirely in Hebrew online. (The most in-demand domain name in Hebrew, which Israelis requested to register, was גוגל [Google], followed directly by the word ישראל [Israel]. The word כסף [money / silver] closes the top-ten most in-demand words.) As of the beginning of 2023, more than 283,000 domain names were registered in the il sphere.
Yoram Hacohen, CEO of the Israel Internet Association: “The Israeli Internet Index published this year for the first time by the Israel Internet Association encompasses usage habits of various online services, and the scope and quality of infrastructures available to the public. The swift increase in the last year in video content consumption among Israelis stands out, whether through TikTok use or watching series on Netflix. As a rule, the web has become the main source for communications and entertainment consumption – television, series and music. The survey also demonstrates that the ever-increasing dependency on the web makes it necessary to “catch up” more quickly in terms of infrastructures – optic fiber and online surfing speed. Internet use is increasing rapidly, and the State must make sure that the infrastructure meets ‘demand’ and is even ready for future developments.”
To view the complete data https://www.isoc.org.il/data/