Global Internet usage

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

Internet users

Main article: List of countries by number of Internet users

In 2015, the International Telecommunication Union estimated about 3.2 billion people, or almost half of the world's population, would be online by the end of the year. Of them, about 2 billion would be from developing countries, including 89 million from least developed countries.^[1][2] According to Hootsuite, the number of Global Internet users has already reached almost 5 billion, or about 53% of the global population as of 2021.^[3] The flat world of information has been created thanks to the Internet and globalization. This phenomenon allows individuals to have access to cultural and ideological beliefs without having to go to other countries, resulting in immobile acculturation.^[4]

Internet users per 100 inhabitants

Source: International Telecommunication Union.^[5][6]

Worldwide Internet users[7] 2005 2010 2017 2023 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%

Internet users in 2015 as a percentage of a country's population Source: International Telecommunication Union.[9]

Number of Internet users in 2012 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

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%

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

Content languages for websites[27]

Percentage of Internet users by language[28]

Censorship and surveillance

Main article: Internet censorship and surveillance by country

Internet censorship and surveillance by country (2018)

Pervasive censorship and/or surveillance   Substantial censorship and/or surveillance   Selective censorship and/or surveillance

Little or no censorship and/or surveillance   Not classified / No data

Sources: Freedom on the Net,^[29] OpenNet Initiative,^[30][31] Reporters Without Borders.^[32][33]

See also

• A4AI: affordability threshold
• Digital rights
• Internet access
• Internet traffic
• List of sovereign states by Internet connection speeds
• List of countries by number of mobile phones in use
• List of social networking services
• Zettabyte Era