Global Internet usage

Estimates of how many people use the Internet From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Global Internet usage is the number of people who use the Internet worldwide.

As of 2025, an estimated 6 billion people worldwide were using the internet, representing approximately 74 percent of the global population.This figure shows continued growth compared with the previous year's estimate of around 5.8 billion users.[1] Despite this progress, significant disparities remain with about 2.2 billion people still offline,underscoring persistent digital divides related to economic development, affordability and infrastructure.[2] Reports on global connectivity emphasize the need for expanded digital infrastructure, affordable services and digital skills training that ensures the expanding internet access benefits a broader range of population worldwide.[3]

Internet users

Main article: List of countries by number of Internet users

As of 2025, the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) estimates that approximately 6 billion people, or 74% of the global population, are using the internet. This reflects a significant increase from 60% in 2020, with an estimated 1.3 billion individuals coming online during that five-year period. Despite this steady growth, a "digital divide" remains, leaving 2.2 billion people offline. The gap is particularly stark in low-income countries, where only 23% of the population uses the internet, compared to 94% in high-income economies. This disparity in "meaningful connectivity" is increasingly defined by differences in connection speed, affordability, and digital skills.[4]

R
Internet users per 100 inhabitants
Source: International Telecommunication Union.[5][6]
More information World population (billions), Worldwide ...
Worldwide Internet users[7]
2005201020172023
World population (billions)[8] 6.5 6.9 7.4 8.0
Worldwide 16% 30% 48% 67%
In developing world 8% 21% 41.3% 60%
In developed world 51% 67% 81% 93%
Internet users by region[7]
Region 2005 2010 2017 2023
Africa 2% 10% 21.8% 37%
Americas 36% 49% 65.9% 87%
Arab States 8% 26% 43.7% 69%
Asia and Pacific 9% 23% 43.9% 66%
Commonwealth of
Independent States		 10% 34% 67.7% 89%
Europe 46% 67% 79.6% 91%
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Source: International Telecommunication Union.[9]
    
Source: International Telecommunication Union.[9]
These maps illustrate the growth in the percentage of individuals using the Internet from 1990 to 2014.[10]
Number of Internet users in 2011
This map illustrates the total number of Internet users in a country as well as the percentage of the population that had Internet access in 2011.
Source: Information Geographies at the Oxford Internet Institute.[11]
Global internet access graph, 2000–2018

Broadband usage

Main article: List of sovereign states by number of broadband Internet subscriptions
More information Users, World population ...
Worldwide broadband subscriptions[12]
Users 2007 2010 2016 2019[13]
World population[14] 6.6 billion 6.9 billion 7.3 billion 7.75 billion
Fixed broadband 5% 8% 11.9% 14.5%
Developing world 2% 4% 8.2% 11.2%
Developed world 18% 24% 30.1% 33.6%
Mobile broadband 4% 11% 49.4% 83%
Developing world 1% 4% 40.9% 75.2%
Developed world 19% 43% 90.3% 121.7%
    
Broadband subscriptions by region[15]
Subscription Place 2007 2010 2014 2019[16]
Fixed Africa 0.1% 0.2% 0.4% 0.4%
Americas 11% 14% 17% 22%
Arab States 1% 2% 3% 8.1%
Asia and Pacific 3% 6% 8% 14.4%
Commonwealth of
Independent States		 2% 8% 14% 19.8%
Europe 18% 24% 28% 31.9%
Mobile Africa 0.2% 2% 19% 34%
Americas 6% 23% 59% 104.4%
Arab States 0.8% 5% 25% 67.3%
Asia and Pacific 3% 7% 23% 89%
Commonwealth of
Independent States		 0.2% 22% 49% 85.4%
Europe 15% 29% 64% 97.4%
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Fixed broadband Internet subscriptions in 2012
as a percentage of a country's population
Source: International Telecommunication Union.[17]
    
Mobile broadband Internet subscriptions in 2012
as a percentage of a country's population
Source: International Telecommunication Union.[18]
Broadband affordability in 2011
This map presents an overview of broadband affordability, as the relationship between average yearly income per capita and the cost of a broadband subscription (data referring to 2011).
Source: Information Geographies at the Oxford Internet Institute.[19]

Internet hosts

Main article: List of sovereign states by number of Internet hosts

The Internet Systems Consortium provides account for the number of the worldwide number of IPv4 hosts (see below). In 2019 this internet domain survey was discontinued as it does not account of IPv6 hosts, and therefore might be misleading.[20]

Source: Internet Systems Consortium.[21]

Web index

Main article: Web Index

The Web index is a composite statistic designed and produced by the World Wide Web Foundation. It provides a multi-dimensional measure of the World Wide Web's contribution to development and human rights globally. It covers 86 countries as of 2014, the latest year for which the index has been compiled.[22][23] It incorporates indicators that assess the areas of universal access, freedom and openness, relevant content, and empowerment, which indicate economic, social, and political impacts of the Web.

Map showing the score of the countries included in the Web index.

IPv4 addresses

Main articles: Carna botnet and List of countries by IPv4 address allocation

The Carna Botnet was a botnet of 420,000 devices created by hackers to measure the extent of the Internet in what the creators called the "Internet Census of 2012".[24][25]

World map of 24-hour relative average utilization of IPv4 addresses observed using ICMP ping requests as part of the Internet Census of 2012 (Carna Botnet), June – October 2012.[26] Key: from red (high), to yellow, green (average), light blue, and dark blue (low).

Languages

Main article: Languages used on the Internet
    

Censorship and surveillance

Main article: Internet censorship and surveillance by country
Sources: Freedom on the Net,[29] OpenNet Initiative,[30][31] Reporters Without Borders.[32][33]

See also

References

External links

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