Global Internet usage

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Global Internet usage refers to 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

Script error: No such module "Labelled list hatnote". 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]
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%
File:InternetPenetrationWorldMap.svg
Source: International Telecommunication Union.[9]
    
File:InternetUsersWorldMap.svg
Source: International Telecommunication Union.[9]
File:Percentage of individuals using the Internet 1990-2014.gif
These maps illustrate the growth in the percentage of individuals using the Internet from 1990 to 2014.[10]
File:InternetPopulation2011 DeSabbata Graham OII.png
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]
File:Global internet access graph.webm
Global internet access graph, 2000–2018

Broadband usage

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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%
File:FixedBroadbandInternetPenetrationWorldMap.svg
Fixed broadband Internet subscriptions in 2012
as a percentage of a country's population
Source: International Telecommunication Union.[17]
    
File:MobileBroadbandInternetPenetrationWorldMap 2013.svg
Mobile broadband Internet subscriptions in 2012
as a percentage of a country's population
Source: International Telecommunication Union.[18]
File:Broadband Affordability.png
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

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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 for IPv6 hosts, and therefore might be misleading.[20]

File:Internet Hosts Count log.svg
Source: Internet Systems Consortium.[21]

Web index

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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.

File:World Map of Web Index 2014.svg
Map showing the score of the countries included in the Web index.

IPv4 addresses

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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]

File:Carnabotnet geovideo lowres.gif
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

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File:WebsitesByLanguagePieChart.svg
    
File:InternetUsersByLanguagePieChart.svg

Censorship and surveillance

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File:Internet Censorship and Surveillance World Map.svg

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

See also

References

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  1. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Statistics". www.itu.int. Retrieved 2026-02-18.
  2. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Press Release". ITU. Retrieved 2026-02-18.
  3. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Press Release". ITU. Retrieved 2026-02-18.
  4. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Facts and Figures 2025". www.itu.int. Retrieved 2026-03-01.
  5. ^ "Individuals using the Internet 2005 to 2014" Script error: No such module "webarchive"., Key ICT indicators for developed and developing countries and the world (totals and penetration rates), International Telecommunication Union (ITU). Retrieved 25 May 2015.
  6. ^ "Internet users per 100 inhabitants 1997 to 2007", ICT Data and Statistics (IDS), International Telecommunication Union (ITU). Retrieved 25 May 2015. Script error: No such module "webarchive"..
  7. ^ a b Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Measuring digital development: Facts and figures 2023". Telecommunication Development Bureau, International Telecommunication Union (ITU). Retrieved 2024-06-14.
  8. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Total Midyear Population for the World: 1950-2050"". International Programs Center for Demographic and Economic Studies, U.S. Census Bureau. Archived from the original on 2017-04-17. Retrieved 2020-02-28.
  9. ^ a b "Percentage of Individuals using the Internet 2000–2012" Script error: No such module "webarchive"., International Telecommunication Union (Geneva), June 2013. Retrieved 22 June 2013.
  10. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."World Telecommunication/ICT Indicators Database". United Nations. Archived from the original on 2017-09-15. Retrieved 2017-09-15.
  11. ^ "Internet Population and Penetration 2011" Script error: No such module "webarchive"., Information Geographies at the Oxford Internet Institute.
  12. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Measuring digital development: Facts and figures 2019". Telecommunication Development Bureau, International Telecommunication Union (ITU). Retrieved 2020-02-28.
  13. ^ Estimate.
  14. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Total Midyear Population for the World: 1950-2050"". International Programs Center for Demographic and Economic Studies, U.S. Census Bureau. Archived from the original on 2017-04-17. Retrieved 2020-02-28.
  15. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Measuring digital development: Facts and figures 2019". Telecommunication Development Bureau, International Telecommunication Union (ITU). Retrieved 2020-02-28.
  16. ^ Estimate
  17. ^ "Fixed (wired)-broadband subscriptions per 100 inhabitants 2012" Script error: No such module "webarchive"., Dynamic Report, ITU ITC EYE, International Telecommunication Union. Retrieved 29 June 2013.
  18. ^ "Active mobile-broadband subscriptions per 100 inhabitants 2012" Script error: No such module "webarchive"., Dynamic Report, ITU ITC EYE, International Telecommunication Union. Retrieved 29 June 2013.
  19. ^ "Broadband affordability" Script error: No such module "webarchive"., Information Geographies at the Oxford Internet Institute.
  20. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Reid, Brian (26 August 2019). "ISC terminates long-running IPv4 Domain Survey, looks towards IPv6". www.isc.org. Archived from the original on 29 June 2021. Retrieved 8 March 2021.
  21. ^ "Internet host count history" Script error: No such module "webarchive"., Internet Systems Consortium. Retrieved September 2011
  22. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Web Index 2014 data". World Wide Web Foundation. Archived from the original on 16 May 2020. Retrieved 5 April 2017.
  23. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Web Index – taking a break in 2015". World Wide Web Foundation. 24 November 2014. Archived from the original on 18 March 2017. Retrieved 5 April 2017.
  24. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Stöcker, Christian; Horchert, Judith (2013-03-22). "Mapping the Internet: A Hacker's Secret Internet Census". Der Spiegel. Archived from the original on 2015-10-02. Retrieved 2013-06-08.
  25. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Kleinman, Alexis (2013-03-22). "The Most Detailed, GIF-Based Map of the Internet Was Made By Hacking 420,000 Computers". HuffPost. Archived from the original on 2015-09-27. Retrieved 2013-06-08.
  26. ^ "Internet Census 2012: Port scanning /0 using insecure embedded devices" Script error: No such module "webarchive"., Carna Botnet, 2012
  27. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Usage of content languages for websites". W3Techs.com. Archived from the original on 18 April 2010. Retrieved 26 April 2013.
  28. ^ "Number of Internet Users by Language" Script error: No such module "webarchive"., Internet World Stats, Miniwatts Marketing Group, 31 May 2011. Retrieved 22 April 2012
  29. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Freedom on the Net 2018" (PDF). Freedom House. November 2018. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 November 2018. Retrieved 1 November 2018.
  30. ^ OpenNet Initiative "Summarized global Internet filtering data spreadsheet" Script error: No such module "webarchive"., 8 November 2011 and "Country Profiles" Script error: No such module "webarchive"., the OpenNet Initiative is a collaborative partnership of the Citizen Lab at the Munk School of Global Affairs, University of Toronto; the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University; and the SecDev Group, Ottawa
  31. ^ Due to legal concerns the OpenNet Initiative does not check for filtering of child pornography and because their classifications focus on technical filtering, they do not include other types of censorship.
  32. ^ "Internet Enemies" Script error: No such module "webarchive"., Enemies of the Internet 2014: Entities at the heart of censorship and surveillance, Reporters Without Borders (Paris), 11 March 2014. Retrieved 24 June 2014.
  33. ^ Internet Enemies Script error: No such module "webarchive"., Reporters Without Borders (Paris), 12 March 2012

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