There are more than 63 million people in the U.K., split pretty evenly between male and female, and with the majority aged between 16 and 64. Eighty percent of the population lives in urban areas, and more than 8 million live in London.

In terms of wireless usage, the U.K. ranked 14th (as of 2010, using Central Intelligence Agency numbers) compared with the rest of the world, and 10th in wireline usage. As far as Internet adoption is concerned, the commonwealth ranked 15th.

Ofcom, the U.K.’s equivalent to the Federal Communications Commission, also keeps track of such information, in even more depth. The following grid presents a graphic snapshot of voice, video and data usage in the U.K. today.

Internet

Number of fixed residential broadband connections

18.4 million (3Q11)

Proportion of adults with broadband in the U.K. (fixed + mobile)

76 percent (4Q11)

Proportion of adults with mobile broadband in the U.K.

14 percent (4Q11)

Average broadband speed in the UK

7.6 Mbit/s (November 2011)

Proportion of adults who use social networking sites

51 percent

Proportion of people who use their mobile handsets to access the Internet

34 percent

Number of mobile broadband (dongles/PC datacards) subscriptions

5 million (3Q11)

Landline/mobile phones

Number of residential fixed landlines

23.8 million (3Q11)

Number of fixed landlines in the U.K., including ISDN

33.2 million fixed lines (3Q11)

Proportion of adults who personally own/use a mobile phone

91 percent (4Q11)

Proportion of adults who live in a home that has cut the cord (no wireline service)

13 percent (4Q11)

What percentage of mobile subscriptions in the U.K. are contract?

48 percent (3Q11)

Number of text messages sent per mobile subscription per month

154 (3Q11)

Digital television

Number of homes with digital TV

94 percent (4Q11)

Number of TVs in the U.K.

60 million (year-end 2011)

Claimed take-up of HDTV service

42 percent (3Q11)

Number of minutes of TV people aged 4+ watch each day

242 (all viewers 4+, average in 2011)

Proportion of homes with network channels on any set

50 percent (4Q11)

Proportion of homes with network channels on their main sets

35 percent (4Q11)

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