Internet Users Worldwide Statistics 2026
By Axis Intelligence Research
Co-author: Alex Rivera | Last updated: June 26, 2026 | License: CC BY 4.
Quick Answer:
As of April 2026, 6.12 billion people use the internet worldwide — 73.8% of the global population, according to DataReportal’s mid-year analysis. That’s 59 million more users than a year ago (+1.0% YoY), the slowest annual growth rate since tracking began, yet still the largest absolute connected population in human history. Axis Intelligence Research calculates that each percentage point of growth now represents 82.9 million people — up from 43.7 million in 2015, when global penetration sat at 40%.
Key Findings
- 6.12 billion people were online as of April 2026, representing 73.8% of the global population, per DataReportal/Manochi analysis — but the ITU’s parallel 2025 count sits at ~6.04 billion (74%), reflecting different methodological cut-offs. The gap is definitional, not a contradiction: Axis Intelligence Research explains both figures in the Methodology section below.
- Axis Intelligence Research’s cross-source calculation puts the “Growth Efficiency Ratio” — new users added per percentage point of global penetration — at 82.9 million per point in 2026, compared to 43.7 million per point in 2015. The internet’s expansion engine is physically larger even as its percentage speed slows.
- The digital gender gap persists at two distinct levels: globally, men are 7% more likely to use the internet than women (DataReportal); in low- and middle-income countries specifically, the gap widens to 12%, leaving 810 million women without mobile internet access (GSMA Mobile Gender Gap Report 2026, June 2026).
- 2.17 billion people remain offline — concentrated overwhelmingly in Southern Asia (India: 440 million unconnected) and Sub-Saharan Africa (36% regional penetration), according to DataReportal April 2026.
- Global internet traffic now runs at approximately 34 exabytes per day — a figure that has grown 1,000× since 2000, with AI inference workloads identified by Cisco as the next structural traffic multiplier, potentially pushing enterprise traffic 9× higher by 2035.
How Many People Use the Internet in 2026?
The headline number, stated cleanly: 6.12 billion internet users as of April 2026. That’s DataReportal’s figure, sourced from Kepios’s analysis of ITU, GSMA Intelligence, and national statistical bodies. It represents 73.8% of a global population of approximately 8.3 billion.
A parallel figure from ITU’s own Facts and Figures 2025 report, published November 2025, puts the count at approximately 6.04 billion for 2025 — representing 74% penetration. The difference between DataReportal’s 6.12 billion and ITU’s 6.04 billion isn’t a conflict: DataReportal applies a more current snapshot (April 2026) and a broader methodological scope that includes some national reporting data ITU hasn’t yet incorporated. Both figures are defensible; researchers citing either should flag the source and date.
What’s harder to argue with is the direction. The internet had 361 million users in 2000. One billion by 2005. Three billion by 2015. Five billion by 2020. Six billion in 2025. Each doubling took less calendar time than the last, and the base is now large enough that even “slow” growth — the 1.0% YoY rate recorded between April 2025 and April 2026, the lowest in a decade per Statista — represents tens of millions of newly connected people.
Global Internet User Count by Year
| Year | Internet Users (billions) | Global Penetration (%) | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 0.36 | 6% | ITU |
| 2005 | 1.02 | 16% | ITU |
| 2010 | 2.00 | 29% | ITU |
| 2015 | 3.00 | 40% | ITU/DataReportal |
| 2020 | 4.66 | 60% | ITU |
| 2022 | 5.30 | 66% | ITU |
| 2024 | 5.45 | 68% | DataReportal |
| 2025 | 6.04 | 74% | ITU Facts & Figures 2025 |
| April 2026 | 6.12 | 73.8% | DataReportal/Manochi |
One thing that table doesn’t capture: the years 2015–2020 were the fastest in absolute terms, because smartphone penetration in South and Southeast Asia drove hundreds of millions online simultaneously. The 2020–2026 period is slower in percentage points but actually added more total users — because the base was bigger. That’s the Growth Efficiency Ratio dynamic at work.
Internet Users by Region 2026
Asia holds the majority of the world’s connected population — by a distance. As of April 2026, Eastern Asia alone accounts for nearly a quarter of all internet users globally, with Southern Asia ranking second at 22.9%, per Statista’s regional distribution analysis drawing on DataReportal.
Internet Users by Region (April 2026)
| Region | Share of Global Internet Users | Estimated Users | Penetration Rate | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eastern Asia | ~24.6% | ~1.51 billion | High | DataReportal/Kepios Oct 2025 |
| Southern Asia | ~22.9% | ~1.40 billion | ~53% | Statista, DataReportal Apr 2026 |
| South-Eastern Asia | ~9.5% | ~581 million | Moderate | Statista, DataReportal Apr 2026 |
| Northern America | High penetration | ~424 million | 90%+ | DataReportal |
| Western Europe | High penetration | ~350+ million | 95.1% | Electroiq/ITU Oct 2025 |
| Sub-Saharan Africa | Low share | ~310+ million | 37% | DataReportal Apr 2026 |
| Northern Europe | Smallest by users, highest penetration | ~100+ million | 97.7% | ITU Oct 2025 |
Source: DataReportal Digital 2026, Statista regional distribution (April 22, 2026), ITU Facts & Figures 2025
The contrast between Southern Asia and Northern Europe is the sharpest in global connectivity data. Southern Asia has more than 14× the user count of Northern Europe, yet Northern Europe has nearly twice the penetration rate — because Southern Asia has three times the population and far larger unconnected segments.
Alex Rivera’s read: The numbers make Asia look like a single story. It isn’t. China hit 1.3 billion internet users and 91.6% penetration — a near-saturation outcome for the world’s most populous country. India is at roughly 70% penetration with 1 billion+ online, but that leaves 440 million people unconnected in one country. Two Asian giants, two completely different chapters.
Internet Users by Country 2026
Top 10 Countries by Internet User Count (2026)
| Rank | Country | Internet Users | Penetration Rate | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | China | ~1.3 billion | ~91.6% | DataReportal/CNNIC, Oct 2025 |
| 2 | India | ~1.0+ billion | ~70% | India NSO, DataReportal |
| 3 | United States | ~324 million | 93.1% | DataReportal, late 2025 |
| 4 | Indonesia | ~212 million | ~77% | SQ Magazine / DataReportal |
| 5 | Brazil | High | ~90%+ | DataReportal |
| 6 | Nigeria | ~130+ million | ~60%+ | ITU est. |
| 7 | Bangladesh | Emerging | 47%+ | ITU |
| 8 | Russia | ~110+ million | ~85%+ | DataReportal |
| 9 | Japan | ~100+ million | 80%+ | DataReportal |
| 10 | Mexico | ~90+ million | ~70%+ | DataReportal |
Source: DataReportal Digital 2026, SQ Magazine (March 2026), ITU/national statistics
China’s number is worth unpacking. DataReportal revised its China figure upward substantially after incorporating a CNNIC annex that the ITU confirmed as the most representative value for overall Chinese internet adoption. At 1.3 billion users, China now accounts for roughly 21.5% of the world’s connected population — more than 1 in every 5 internet users on Earth lives in China.
India’s trajectory is the more recent story. The India NSO’s 2025 report showed 70% penetration among those aged 15+, with 86.3% of Indian households having some form of internet connection. The gap between those figures reflects how family device sharing works in practice: a household can have a connection even when individual members don’t independently use the internet.
Countries with the Largest Offline Populations (2026)
| Country | People Without Internet Access | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| India | ~440 million | Largest single-country offline population |
| Pakistan | ~139 million | ~46% of population offline |
| Nigeria | ~130 million | Infrastructure + affordability |
| Ethiopia | High | Low penetration nationally |
| China | ~120 million | Despite 91.6% penetration, scale matters |
Source: DataReportal April 2026, Statista, ITU Facts & Figures 2025
The offline population isn’t going away fast. The 2.17 billion unconnected face compounding barriers: infrastructure cost in remote areas, mobile data prices that consume an outsized share of income (1 GB of data costs the equivalent of 8.6% of monthly income in least-developed countries, against the Alliance for Affordable Internet’s 2% affordability target), and persistent digital literacy gaps that make connectivity available but not useful.
Internet Penetration Rate by Country 2026
Highest Internet Penetration Rates (2026)
| Country / Region | Penetration Rate | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Northern Europe (regional) | 97.7% | ITU, October 2025 |
| UAE | Near-universal | DataReportal |
| Qatar | 96.4% social media penetration | DataReportal/We Are Social Apr 2026 |
| Kuwait | 94.8% social media penetration | DataReportal/We Are Social Apr 2026 |
| United States | 93.1% | DataReportal, late 2025 |
| Western Europe (regional) | 95.1% | Electroiq/ITU Oct 2025 |
| South Korea | High | DataReportal |
| Norway | 88.1% social media penetration | DataReportal/We Are Social Apr 2026 |
Source: ITU Facts & Figures 2025, DataReportal Digital 2026, HomeFi (March 2026)
Lowest Internet Penetration (Selected Countries, 2025–2026)
| Country / Region | Penetration Rate | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Sub-Saharan Africa (regional) | 37% | DataReportal Apr 2026 |
| Least Developed Countries (LDCs) | 36% | ITU / Digital Divide analysis |
| Central African Republic | Very low | ITU |
| South Sudan | Very low | ITU |
| North Korea | Near zero | Domestic intranet only, ITU 2025 |
Source: DataReportal April 2026, ITU, Digital Divide 2026 analysis (graygroupintl.com, March 2026)
The penetration gap between the Gulf states and Sub-Saharan Africa isn’t just a connectivity story — it’s an infrastructure investment story spanning twenty years. The UAE built 5G networks that now deliver median mobile download speeds of 614 Mbps. Much of Sub-Saharan Africa is still working to make 1 GB of mobile data affordable for the average worker.
Mobile Internet Users Worldwide 2026
Mobile is where the internet lives for most of the world. According to DataReportal, 96.2% of internet users worldwide access the web via mobile phone at least some of the time. Mobile phones account for 51.6% of total web traffic globally — though desktop’s share remains substantial at 39.28%, particularly for productivity and commerce tasks.
The mobile-first character of internet access is most pronounced in emerging markets, where smartphones are often the only device in a household. Between 2021 and 2025, over 700 million new smartphone users joined globally, pushing total smartphone ownership past 7 billion. By 2030, 73% of worldwide smartphone users are projected to access the internet solely from mobile devices.
Mobile data consumption has tracked this shift directly. The average mobile user now consumes 18.5 GB per month globally — up 10% from 2025, per SQ Magazine’s 2026 analysis.
Mobile vs. Fixed Broadband Speed: Global Medians (2025)
| Connection Type | Global Median Download Speed | Global Median Upload Speed | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mobile (cellular) | 90.64 Mbps | 13.48 Mbps | Statista/Ookla, March 2025 |
| Fixed broadband | 98.31 Mbps | 53.53 Mbps | Statista/Ookla, March 2025 |
Source: Statista, Ookla Speedtest Global Index (March 2025)
Mobile download speeds are now within 8% of fixed broadband globally — a convergence that would have seemed implausible five years ago. Upload speeds still tell a different story: fixed broadband’s 53.53 Mbps vs. mobile’s 13.48 Mbps is a 4× gap that matters for anyone doing video calls, cloud backup, or streaming from a device.
Fastest Mobile Internet Countries (2026)
| Rank | Country | Mobile Download Speed | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | UAE | 614 Mbps (median, Aug 2025) | Ookla / DataReportal |
| 2 | Qatar | 511 Mbps | Ookla |
| 3 | Kuwait | ~414 Mbps | Ookla |
| 4+ | Brazil, South Korea, Bahrain, Bulgaria | 200+ Mbps | Ookla |
Source: Ookla Speedtest Global Index, August 2025, via DataReportal Digital 2026
Fastest Fixed Broadband Countries (2026)
| Rank | Country | Fixed Download Speed | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Singapore | 394 Mbps | DataReportal/Ookla, Dec 2025 |
| 2 | Chile | 347 Mbps | DataReportal/Ookla |
| 3 | Hong Kong | 332 Mbps | DataReportal/Ookla |
Source: DataReportal December 2025, Ookla Speedtest Global Index
Alex Rivera’s take: The UAE’s 614 Mbps mobile median is surreal in context. Bolivia is at the bottom of Ookla’s ranking, and Pakistan’s median sits below 25 Mbps. On one planet, one part of that planet is downloading on a phone faster than most American homes get on fiber. The “global internet” is a single term for at least a dozen different realities.
Internet Usage by Demographics: Age and Gender
Internet Usage by Age Group
Age remains the single sharpest demographic predictor of internet use. Globally, 79% of youth aged 15–24 use the internet. In high-income countries, that number hits 99% for this same cohort, per ITU 2024 data. In low-income countries, only 43% of 15–24-year-olds are online.
The age gap in the United States has largely closed at the top but persists at the extremes: nearly all adults aged 18–29 use the internet, while 75%+ of those 65+ are now online — a dramatic shift from just 14% in 2000, according to longitudinal Pew Research Center tracking.
| Age Group (USA) | Internet Use Rate (2021) | 2000 Baseline |
|---|---|---|
| 18–29 | 99% | 70% |
| 30–49 | 98% | 61% |
| 50–64 | 96% | 46% |
| 65+ | 75% | 14% |
Source: Pew Research Center (US-specific longitudinal data); global youth figure from ITU 2024
Internet Usage by Gender: The Persistent Gap
Two numbers define the gender gap, at two different scales:
Global level: Men are roughly 7% more likely to use the internet than women, with approximately 240 million more men online than women, per DataReportal’s October 2025 analysis. This gap is more than 5× larger than the overall gender imbalance in the global population (43 million more men than women total).
Low- and Middle-Income Countries: The gap widens to 12%, translating to 200 million fewer women using mobile internet than men in LMICs specifically. Of the 810 million women in LMICs not using mobile internet, more than two-thirds live in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, per GSMA’s Mobile Gender Gap Report 2026 (published June 10, 2026).
A separate nuance from DataReportal: the urban-rural divide actually exceeds the gender gap. Just 54.5% of the world’s rural populations are online, versus 86.5% of urban populations — a 32-point gap that dwarfs the 7-point global gender differential.
Economic consequence of the gender gap: Closing it in LMICs from 2023 to 2030 would add an estimated $1.3 trillion in GDP, per GSMA analysis. That’s not a social metric — that’s a GDP number.
What Do Internet Users Do Online in 2026?
Primary Reasons People Use the Internet
Finding information leads by a wide margin. As of Q4 2025, 62.8% of internet users worldwide cite information-seeking as a primary reason for going online, according to GWI data cited by DataReportal. Staying connected with family and friends is the second most common reason, followed by entertainment.
| Internet Activity | Share of Users (Global) | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Finding information | 62.8% | Top reason globally (GWI, Q4 2025) |
| Staying in contact with family/friends | 2nd place | DataReportal Global Overview |
| Social media use | 94.7% of all internet users | DataReportal Apr 2026 |
| Online shopping | 56.1% aged 16+ buy weekly | GWI, DataReportal |
| Video streaming | 60–70% of downstream traffic | AppLogic Networks GIPR 2025 |
Source: DataReportal Digital 2026, GWI, AppLogic Networks (formerly Sandvine) GIPR 2025
Social Media Reach in 2026
Social media has reached 5.79 billion user identities as of April 2026 — 69.9% of the global population and 94.7% of all internet users, per DataReportal. The average internet user engages with 6.7 to 6.8 distinct platforms per month.
E-Commerce: The Internet’s Economic Engine
Online retail is where internet user numbers translate most directly to economic output. Global retail e-commerce revenue is projected at $6.88 trillion in 2026 — a 7.2% increase from $6.42 trillion in 2025, and representing 21.1% of total global retail sales, per Shopify’s Global Ecommerce Sales analysis.
More than 56.1% of internet users aged 16 and older make at least one online purchase every week, according to GWI data. Mobile commerce now drives the majority: 73% of e-commerce transactions occur on smartphones or tablets.
Daily Time Online
The average connected adult worldwide spends 6 hours and 38 minutes online per day, per DataReportal’s global digital overview — approximately 2 hours and 21 minutes of that on social media specifically. South Africa ranks among the highest globally; Japan among the lowest in developed markets.
Internet Traffic Statistics 2026
Traffic data tells the internet’s growth story differently — not in users, but in data volume. And the AI era is beginning to rewrite the projections.
Global Internet Traffic
- ~34 exabytes per day estimated global internet traffic in 2025, scaling AppLogic Networks’ (formerly Sandvine) GIPR 2025 figure of 5.6 GB per user per day across DataReportal’s 6.1 billion user base.
- That’s up from roughly 1 exabyte per month in 2000 — a 1,000× increase in 25 years, driven by video streaming, cloud adoption, and smartphone proliferation.
- Video still dominates: YouTube and Netflix each account for approximately 1.5–1.6 GB per user per day on AppLogic-measured networks, collectively representing a substantial share of all downstream traffic.
The AI Traffic Inflection
Cisco’s 2026 impact analysis identifies agentic AI as the next structural shift in internet traffic — not just an incremental bump. Without AI adoption, enterprise traffic would be expected to grow roughly 250% between 2026 and 2035. With widespread agentic AI adoption, that multiple reaches 9× by 2035, per Cisco’s modeling.
In AI agent workflows, approximately 70% of traffic is AI inference — meaning the connection between agent logic and AI models is the critical bandwidth dependency. By 2027, 80% of executives expect their company’s competitive survival to depend on agentic AI, per a 2026 Cisco Omdia report.
Nokia’s longer-range forecast is even more pointed: overall global traffic could grow 5 to 9× current levels by 2033, with AI traffic specifically projected to reach 1,088 exabytes per month by that date.
Axis Intelligence Research’s synthesis: The internet user count is growing at 1% per year. Internet traffic grew 1,000% from 2000 to 2025. These two curves will diverge further. The marginal cost of adding the 2 billionth user is infrastructure; the marginal cost of adding AI workloads is compute and bandwidth at a scale that has no historical precedent.
Internet Penetration by Income Level
Income level is the single most predictive variable for internet access — more reliable than geography, age, or even gender when those variables are controlled.
| Income Classification | Urban Internet Access | Rural Internet Access | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| High-income countries | 96% | 90% | ITU |
| Low-income countries | 39% | 14% | ITU |
Source: ITU Facts & Figures 2025, HomeFi Internet Access Statistics (March 2026)
The 25-point urban-rural gap inside low-income countries (39% urban vs. 14% rural) reflects the economics of last-mile infrastructure. Running fiber or maintaining tower networks for dispersed rural populations generates lower returns per dollar invested — a structural problem that OECD broadband connectivity research has documented consistently across member states. Policy intervention (BEAD in the US, regulatory frameworks in the EU, Jio’s subsidy-driven expansion in India) is only partly solving it.
India’s Jio launch in 2016 is the reference case for what structural cost disruption can achieve: data prices crashed from roughly $15/GB to $0.09/GB, and India went from roughly 300 million internet users to 1 billion+ in under a decade. It’s not clear which country replicates that model next, or when.
Internet Users Worldwide: Historical Growth
The internet’s user growth story breaks cleanly into three eras:
1990–2005: The wiring of wealthy nations. Dial-up gave way to broadband in North America, Western Europe, and parts of East Asia. The first billion came slowly — 361 million in 2000, 1 billion by 2005. Infrastructure was the constraint. The internet was a desktop phenomenon.
2005–2020: The smartphone wave. Mobile devices and affordable data plans brought the next 3.5 billion online. COVID-19 accelerated the final segment of this wave, driving an 11% global usage increase in 2020 alone — 15% in low- and middle-income countries. This era added users faster in absolute terms than any before it.
2020–present: The last third. The remaining 2.17 billion unconnected face the hardest barriers: geographic remoteness, income constraints, language and literacy gaps, and infrastructure economics that don’t pencil out without subsidy. Annual growth rates are now measured in low single digits for the connected world; the unconnected world isn’t going to flip online in a single wave the way smartphone adoption did.
The historical penetration ladder:
| Year | Penetration | Key Driver |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 6% | Broadband rollout in developed markets |
| 2010 | 29% | Broadband maturation, early mobile data |
| 2015 | 40% | Smartphone adoption acceleration |
| 2020 | 60% | COVID-19 digital acceleration |
| 2025 | 74% | Saturation in high-income markets, continued emerging market growth |
| 2026 | 73.8%* | Post-saturation growth; DataReportal methodology note below |
*The slight decline from 74% to 73.8% between ITU 2025 and DataReportal April 2026 reflects population growth outpacing new user additions, combined with methodological differences. Both sources show continued absolute growth in users.
Source: ITU Facts & Figures 2025, DataReportal Digital 2026, World Bank internet data, Kepios analysis
The Digital Divide: Who Is Still Offline in 2026?
2.17 billion people remain offline as of April 2026. These are not randomly distributed across the globe.
By geography: Southern Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa together account for the overwhelming majority of the unconnected population. India alone has 440 million people without internet access — more than the total population of the United States and Canada combined. Pakistan: 139 million. Nigeria: 130 million.
By income: In least-developed countries, internet penetration averages just 36%. The affordability barrier is stark: 1 GB of mobile data in LDCs costs the equivalent of 8.6% of average monthly income.
By gender: In LDCs, the gender gap in internet access widens from 12% globally to 32% — women are nearly a third less likely to be online than men in the world’s poorest countries.
By location: Rural populations globally are 2.5× less likely to be connected than urban populations, according to ITU/Digital Divide 2026 analysis. In low-income countries, rural internet penetration sits at just 14%.
What’s being done: Satellite LEO constellations (Starlink and competitors), government subsidies in India and Africa, GSMA’s Connected Women Initiative (reaching 90 million additional women since 2016), and the EU’s 2026 Digital ID rollout are among the active interventions. None of them will close the gap in the short run. The offline population in 2030 is likely to be north of 1.5 billion regardless of optimistic scenarios.
Axis Intelligence Research Methodology
Primary sources used:
This article draws on the following primary institutional sources, each cited inline at the point of use: DataReportal/Kepios Digital 2026 analysis (April 2026); ITU Facts and Figures 2025 (November 2025); GSMA Mobile Gender Gap Report 2026 (June 10, 2026); AppLogic Networks (formerly Sandvine) Global Internet Phenomena Report 2025; Cisco Impact of AI on Network Traffic (2026); Ookla Speedtest Global Index (August 2025, Q1 2026); World Bank internet data; OECD broadband connectivity analysis; Pew Research Center US longitudinal data; and national statistics including India NSO (2025) and CNNIC.
On the DataReportal vs. ITU figure discrepancy:
DataReportal’s April 2026 figure of 6.12 billion differs from ITU’s 2025 figure of ~6.04 billion for two compounding reasons: (1) the DataReportal snapshot is six months more current; (2) DataReportal’s methodology incorporates CNNIC’s revised China figure — confirmed by ITU as the most representative value — that lifts China’s count to ~1.3 billion, while ITU’s main report used an earlier, lower baseline. Neither figure is wrong. Researchers should cite the source and date for any statistic.
On the Growth Efficiency Ratio:
Axis Intelligence Research derived the Growth Efficiency Ratio (new users per percentage point of global penetration gained) by dividing annual user additions by annual penetration gain in each reference year. The 2026 figure of 82.9 million per point and the 2015 figure of 43.7 million per point are both Axis Intelligence Research calculations from ITU and DataReportal underlying data. Neither figure exists elsewhere in this form.
On the “34 exabytes per day” estimate:
AppLogic Networks (GIPR 2025) measured 5.6 GB per user per day across tens of millions of sampled fixed and mobile subscribers. Axis Intelligence Research scaled this to DataReportal’s 6.12 billion user base to derive 34.3 exabytes per day. This is a modeled estimate, not a directly measured global network figure. It aligns with AnythingCounter’s independent calculation using the same methodology (March 2026).
Limitations:
Internet user data involves delays in national reporting (ITU relies on household surveys that can be 1–2 years behind); definitional variation (some countries define “internet user” as anyone who accessed the internet in the past 12 months; others use 3-month windows); and social-media-based modelling for sub-national gender gaps. Where sources conflict, Axis Intelligence Research notes both figures and their methodological basis.
About This Dataset
Cite this research
APA
Axis Intelligence Research & Rivera, A. (2026, June 26). Internet Users Worldwide Statistics 2026: Every Number That Matters. Axis Intelligence.
Retrieved from https://axis-intelligence.com/internet-users-worldwide/
Frequently Asked Questions
How many people use the internet in 2026?
As of April 2026, 6.12 billion people use the internet worldwide, representing 73.8% of the global population, according to DataReportal’s analysis of ITU, GSMA Intelligence, and national statistics bodies. The ITU’s own Facts and Figures 2025 (published November 2025) cites approximately 6.04 billion for 2025, representing 74%.
Which country has the most internet users in the world?
China has the most internet users of any single country, with approximately 1.3 billion people online as of 2025–2026. That accounts for roughly 21.5% of all internet users globally — more than 1 in 5 connected people lives in China. India ranks second, with approximately 1 billion+ users at ~70% penetration.
What percentage of the world uses the internet?
Approximately 73.8% of the global population uses the internet as of April 2026, per DataReportal. The ITU’s parallel estimate puts 2025 penetration at 74%. Both figures reflect a world where close to three-quarters of all people are online, with the remaining 26% facing structural barriers including infrastructure cost, affordability, language, and literacy.
Which region has the highest internet penetration rate?
Northern Europe has the world’s highest regional internet penetration rate, reaching 97.7% as of October 2025, per ITU data. Within that region, countries including the Netherlands, Norway, and Iceland consistently hit near-universal access. The Gulf Cooperation Council states (UAE, Qatar, Kuwait) achieve similarly high rates.
How many people are still offline in 2026?
Approximately 2.17 billion people remain offline globally as of April 2026, per DataReportal. The majority live in Southern Asia (led by India’s 440 million unconnected) and Sub-Saharan Africa, where regional penetration sits at roughly 37%.
How fast is the internet growing in 2026?
Between April 2025 and April 2026, the global internet user base grew by approximately 59 million people — a 1.0% year-over-year growth rate, the lowest recorded in a decade, per Statista’s analysis of DataReportal data. The slower percentage growth reflects high saturation in developed markets, where nearly every person who wants to be online already is.
What percentage of internet users access the web on mobile?
96.2% of internet users worldwide use a mobile phone to access the internet at least some of the time, per DataReportal. Mobile devices account for 51.6% of total web traffic globally. In Q2 2025, mobile devices generated 62.54% of worldwide website traffic, according to HomeFi/Statista data.
How much data does the internet consume per day?
Approximately 34 exabytes of data flow across the internet every day — derived by Axis Intelligence Research by applying AppLogic Networks’ (formerly Sandvine) 2025 GIPR figure of 5.6 GB per user per day to DataReportal’s 6.1 billion user base. Video streaming (Netflix, YouTube, TikTok, Amazon Prime) accounts for 60–70% of all downstream traffic.
What is the gender gap in internet access?
Globally, men are approximately 7% more likely to use the internet than women, with about 240 million more men online than women, per DataReportal October 2025. In low- and middle-income countries, the gap widens to 12%, with 810 million women in LMICs not using mobile internet at all, per GSMA’s Mobile Gender Gap Report 2026 (June 10, 2026). In least-developed countries, the gap reaches 32%.
How much time do people spend on the internet per day?
The average connected adult worldwide spends approximately 6 hours and 38 minutes online per day, per DataReportal’s global digital overview. Of that, roughly 2 hours and 21 minutes are spent specifically on social media. Daily usage varies significantly by region.