Global Internet usage

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Short description: Estimates of how many people use the Internet

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

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
  2005 2010 2017 2019a
World population[7] 6.5 billion 6.9 billion 7.4 billion 7.75 billion
Users worldwide 16% 30% 48% 53.6%
Users in the developing world 8% 21% 41.3% 47%
Users in the developed world 51% 67% 81% 86.6%
a Estimate.
Source: International Telecommunications Union.[8]
Internet users by region
  2005 2010 2017 2019a
Africa       2%             10%             21.8%             28.2%      
Americas 36% 49% 65.9% 77.2%
Arab States 8% 26% 43.7% 51.6%
Asia and Pacific 9% 23% 43.9% 48.4%
Commonwealth of
Independent States 		 
10% 		 
34% 		 
67.7% 		 
72.2%
Europe 46% 67% 79.6% 82.5%
a Estimate.
Source: International Telecommunication Union.[9]
Source: International Telecommunication Union.[10]
    
Source: International Telecommunication Union.[10]
These maps illustrate the growth in the percentage of individuals using the Internet from 1990 to 2014.[11]
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.[12]

File:Global internet access graph.webm

Broadband usage

Template:Worldwide broadband subscriptions

   
Broadband subscriptions by region
  Fixed subscriptions:    2007 2010 2014 2019a  
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 subscriptions:    2007 2010 2014 2019a  
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%
a Estimate.
Source: International Telecommunications Union.[9]
Fixed broadband Internet subscriptions in 2012
as a percentage of a country's population
Source: International Telecommunication Union.[13]
    
Mobile broadband Internet subscriptions in 2012
as a percentage of a country's population
Source: International Telecommunication Union.[14]
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.[15]

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 for IPv6 hosts, and therefore might be misleading.[16]

Source: Internet Systems Consortium.[17]

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.[18][19] 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: Software: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".[20][21]

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.[22] Key: from red (high), to yellow, green (average), light blue, and dark blue (low).

Languages

Main article: Social:Languages used on the Internet
    

Censorship and surveillance

Sources: Freedom on the Net,[25] OpenNet Initiative,[26][27] Reporters Without Borders.[28][29]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Statistics" (in en). https://www.itu.int/itu-d/reports/statistics/2025/10/15/ff25-internet-use. 
  2. ↑ "Press Release" (in en-US). https://www.itu.int/en/mediacentre/Pages/PR-2025-11-17-Facts-and-Figures.aspx. 
  3. ↑ "Press Release" (in en-US). https://www.itu.int/en/mediacentre/Pages/PR-2025-11-17-Facts-and-Figures.aspx. 
  4. ↑ "Facts and Figures 2025" (in en). https://www.itu.int/itu-d/reports/statistics/facts-figures-2025. 
  5. ↑ "Individuals using the Internet 2005 to 2014" , 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. .
  7. ↑ "Total Midyear Population for the World: 1950-2050"". International Programs Center for Demographic and Economic Studies, U.S. Census Bureau. https://www.census.gov/population/international/data/idb/worldpoptotal.php. 
  8. ↑ "Measuring digital development: Facts and figures 2019". Telecommunication Development Bureau, International Telecommunication Union (ITU). http://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Statistics/Pages/facts/default.aspx. 
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 "Measuring digital development: Facts and figures 2019". Telecommunication Development Bureau, International Telecommunication Union (ITU). http://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Statistics/Pages/facts/default.aspx. 
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 "Percentage of Individuals using the Internet 2000–2012" , International Telecommunication Union (Geneva), June 2013. Retrieved 22 June 2013.
  11. ↑ "World Telecommunication/ICT Indicators Database". United Nations. http://data.un.org/Data.aspx?d=ITU&f=ind1Code%3aI99H. 
  12. ↑ "Internet Population and Penetration 2011" , Information Geographies at the Oxford Internet Institute.
  13. ↑ "Fixed (wired)-broadband subscriptions per 100 inhabitants 2012" , Dynamic Report, ITU ITC EYE, International Telecommunication Union. Retrieved 29 June 2013.
  14. ↑ "Active mobile-broadband subscriptions per 100 inhabitants 2012" , Dynamic Report, ITU ITC EYE, International Telecommunication Union. Retrieved 29 June 2013.
  15. ↑ "Broadband affordability" , Information Geographies at the Oxford Internet Institute.
  16. ↑ Reid, Brian (26 August 2019). "ISC terminates long-running IPv4 Domain Survey, looks towards IPv6". https://www.isc.org/blogs/domain-survey-ends/. 
  17. ↑ "Internet host count history" , Internet Systems Consortium. Retrieved September 2011
  18. ↑ "Web Index 2014 data". World Wide Web Foundation. http://thewebindex.org/data/?indicator=INDEX&country=ALL. 
  19. ↑ "Web Index – taking a break in 2015". World Wide Web Foundation. 24 November 2014. http://thewebindex.org/blog/web-index-taking-a-break-in-2015/. 
  20. ↑ Stöcker, Christian; Horchert, Judith (2013-03-22). "Mapping the Internet: A Hacker's Secret Internet Census". Der Spiegel. http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/hacker-measures-the-internet-illegally-with-carna-botnet-a-890413.html. 
  21. ↑ Kleinman, Alexis (2013-03-22). "The Most Detailed, GIF-Based Map of the Internet Was Made By Hacking 420,000 Computers". HuffPost. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/22/internet-map_n_2926934.html. 
  22. ↑ "Internet Census 2012: Port scanning /0 using insecure embedded devices" , Carna Botnet, 2012
  23. ↑ "Usage of content languages for websites". W3Techs.com. http://w3techs.com/technologies/overview/content_language/all. 
  24. ↑ "Number of Internet Users by Language" , Internet World Stats, Miniwatts Marketing Group, 31 May 2011. Retrieved 22 April 2012
  25. ↑ "Freedom on the Net 2018". November 2018. https://freedomhouse.org/sites/default/files/FOTN_2018_Final%20Booklet_11_1_2018.pdf. 
  26. ↑ OpenNet Initiative "Summarized global Internet filtering data spreadsheet" , 8 November 2011 and "Country Profiles" , 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
  27. ↑ 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.
  28. ↑ "Internet Enemies" , Enemies of the Internet 2014: Entities at the heart of censorship and surveillance, Reporters Without Borders (Paris), 11 March 2014. Retrieved 24 June 2014.
  29. ↑ Internet Enemies , Reporters Without Borders (Paris), 12 March 2012



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