Brazilians now access the internet in a large majority, but the quality and type of content they seek may show considerable differences related to family income. According to the TIC Domicílios survey, released this Tuesday (9), 86% of households have internet access, the highest figure in the historical series, which began in 2015 when 51% had access. This means 157 million network users, reaching 163 million if access via apps that indirectly access the network is considered.
The sharp leap over a decade reflects the expansion of access among the poorest. In 2015, 15% of households considered to be in classes D and E had network access. In 2025, the figure reaches 73%, having advanced 5 percentage points in just the last year.
The increase reflects the expansion of access via cable or fiber optics among the poorest. The technology has become the main gateway, used by 73% of people, but here the first sign of inequality is already evident: in classes D and E, only 60% use this technology.
Financial Issue
The inequality driven by financial issues remains highly pronounced for access in general terms. In classes A and B, access is nearly universal, with 99% and 95% respectively. In class C, the figure drops to 86%, and in classes D and E, it stands at 73%—meaning a quarter of Brazilians in classes D and E do not have access.
Classes D and E lead when it comes to access solely via cell phones. 87% of Brazilians in this class used the network only through phone devices, indicating that usage surpasses that of web pages, social networks, and the like. The survey also noted the consolidation of virtual government tools, with access mainly driven by the use of health services and the issuance or access to documents.
Internet access in general also drops sharply among rural residents, reaching 77%. Education is another determining factor: 98% of Brazilians with higher education use the internet, compared to 91% of those with high school and 74% with elementary school. Its use is also related to age.
All age groups between 10 and 44 years have more than 90% access. This figure falls to 86% among those over 45 and to 54% among those over 60. In all these breakdowns, the use of cell phones as the only form of access is more widespread among populations with less access.
The survey also evaluated, for the first time, the quality of internet access among users of cell phone packages. Most respondents, 55%, have packages sufficient for their use, but a significant group reports a drop in speed after exhausting the package (33% of Brazilians and 38% in classes DE) and having to purchase additional access packages (30-37%, respectively).
The TIC Domicílios survey is a study by the Regional Center for Studies on the Development of the Information Society (Cetic.br) that maps access and use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) in households and by individuals aged 10 or older in Brazil, the three main bodies for monitoring and managing the internet in the country, and had support from Unesco.
How Brazilians Use the Internet
In 2023 and 2024, Brazilians used the internet mainly for communication, with 92% sending instant messages, 81% making video calls, and 80% using social networks. There was a decline in the predominance of using the network to watch movies (71% in 2025 versus 77% in 2024) and among those who shared content (62% in 2025 and 67% in 2024). The use of the network for pix payments, meanwhile, appears for the first time and is already consolidated, used by 75% of people.
The use of the network for online betting was measured this year, indicating that 19% of Brazilians use the network for this purpose, with a male predominance (25%) in the four types of use measured, which were access to online casinos (10% of men and 6% of women); participation in raffles or draws (9% and 5%); placing sports bets (12% and 2%); and betting on federal lotteries (9% and 4%).
The use of generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) was also questioned for the first time: 32% of Brazilians already use it, with 35% of men. There is a marked difference in usage by class—59% of those with higher education, 29% among those who completed high school, and 17% among those who completed elementary school—and by income (69% in class A, 52% in B, 32% in C, and 16% in classes DE).
The use of AI tools is also related to age: 55% of youth aged 16 to 24 use AIs, dropping to 44% in the 25-34 population, 40% among 10-15 year olds, and below 30% for those aged 35 to 44. Among people aged 45 to 59, only 18% use AIs, and among those over 60, the figure is marginal, with 6% usage.
Among those who use it, most use AI for personal purposes (84%), while 53% use it for research or academic work and 50% for professional or work use. The main difference here is in work use, which predominates among professionals with higher education, 69% of whom use AI for professional purposes.
Among those with high school level, this usage drops to 41%, and for workers with elementary education, only 23% use AI for professional purposes. In elementary school, however, the highest usage is for academic research, 67%, which may indicate widespread use of the technology among elementary school students.
Electronic Government Is Widely Used
The survey also found that the public government platform gov.br remains widely used, with access by 56% of the total population and, by class, 94% for class A, declining as income decreases: 79% for B, 56% for C, and 35% for D and E. There is also a significant regional disparity. The average usage by region is between 57% and 60%, but among Northeast residents, only 48% use the platform.
Source: Agência Brasil