Analysis of the Purpose of Using Internet in Iraq: A Multinomial Logit Model

Internet accessibility is positively correlated with infrastructure development and nature of government policies. Though Iraq has shown considerable increase in Internet connectivity, it constitutes only 10 % of its population. In this study, the significant factors determining the use and non-use of Internet have been identified and analyzed. The results revealed that human development, human capital, institutional and legal environment, existing technologies, government policy making and income levels affect the Internet accessibility. The non-Internet users mainly comprised from 12-25 years age group. Similarly, high school and diploma students constituted significant proportion of non-Internet users. Lack of awareness and poor access to Internet facility were quoted as the most significant factors that resulted in the poor Internet accessibility which were supported by the used multinomial logit model. Low income level of the people resulted in non-use of Internet.The use of Internet was found to be highest among those with high level of education. Hence, the measures like provision of ICT based training programs, effective government policy for prioritizing Internet in education sector and allowing most advanced Internet technologies in e-governance and increased efforts for enhancing human development and human capital would enhance the rate of Internet accessibility in Iraq.