Tiago Bianchi
Research expert covering internet & gaming in Latin America and Spain
Internet usage in Peru - Statistics & Facts
With the fifth largest online audience in Latin America, Peru is slowly balancing the mountainous gaps regarding digital access. With more than 33 million inhabitants in 2023, only around 74 percent of Peruvians have access to the internet. Even though the number of internet users in the country has surpassed that of Venezuela, historically poor availability of the service in the Andean country places it at a disadvantage in comparison to other countries in Latin America and the Caribbean.
However, competitors like the video-based app TikTok had an explosion of popularity in Peru during the last two years. Following its success throughout the region, the video-based platform now has an audience of 22.29 million users in Peru, becoming its second biggest social network in the country and putting higher stakes in its social media landscape.
The increase in mobile connectivity is also affecting how Peruvians shop online: besides better prices, the convenience of making instant purchases is the main reason for them to make purchases online. Despite the popularity and size of MercadoLibre in Latin America, citizens of Peru are more likely to use Amazon as their online shopping option.
A tortuous way to the web
Despite the regional increase in mobile connectivity and the fact that more than 59 percent of its population prefers to access the web via mobile phones, Peru has one of the lowest internet traffic rates originating from mobile devices in Latin America. As of 2023, more than half of its web volume originates from desktop devices. Still, this scenario has seen great improvements, as the country’s agrarian populations are experiencing unseen improvements to their access to the web, with a growth of over 84 percent of service penetration in rural areas from 2019 to 2022.Social media: more competition to the top
Facebook remains the most popular network in Peru, having in the Andean country its fifth largest audience in Latin America. Being visited by more than 80 percent of the country’s population, the flagship of Meta Platforms Inc. is more popular among young adults and significantly shapes the behavior of social media users in the country.However, competitors like the video-based app TikTok had an explosion of popularity in Peru during the last two years. Following its success throughout the region, the video-based platform now has an audience of 22.29 million users in Peru, becoming its second biggest social network in the country and putting higher stakes in its social media landscape.
E-commerce
Despite the enormity of its problems with internet access, Peru still manages to have an e-commerce economy with a size comparable to the one of Chile. With more than 15.3 million online shoppers as of 2022, the boom in the sector during the coronavirus pandemic gave Peru one of the biggest regional increases in retail sales of the sector in 2020, thus more than tripling Peru’s e-commerce sales value between 2020 to 2022.The increase in mobile connectivity is also affecting how Peruvians shop online: besides better prices, the convenience of making instant purchases is the main reason for them to make purchases online. Despite the popularity and size of MercadoLibre in Latin America, citizens of Peru are more likely to use Amazon as their online shopping option.
