Imagine a world where nearly 70% of humanity is just a click away, as the internet now connects a staggering 5.44 billion people globally, fundamentally reshaping how we live, work, and connect.
Key Takeaways
- As of January 2024, there are 5.44 billion active internet users worldwide, equating to 67.5% of the global population.
- In 2023, global internet penetration reached 66.2%, up from 65.4% in 2022.
- By mid-2023, 5.3 billion people were using the internet, representing two-thirds of the world's population.
- Smartphones are used by 97% of internet users to access the web in 2024.
- Globally, 93.8% of internet users access via mobile devices.
- There are 7.89 billion cellular mobile connections worldwide in 2024.
- Global average time spent online per day is 6 hours 58 minutes in 2024.
- Internet users spend 2 hours 25 minutes daily on social media globally.
- Average daily video content consumption is 2 hours 24 minutes worldwide.
- Asia: 8 hours 20 minutes daily internet use in 2024.
- Africa: 5 hours 7 minutes average daily online time.
- Europe: 6 hours 25 minutes daily internet usage.
- Global internet users expected to reach 5.6 billion by 2025.
- Internet penetration forecasted to hit 70% by 2025.
- Annual growth rate of users is 2.6% from 2023-2024.
Global internet usage keeps growing, with two-thirds of all people now online.
Devices and Access
- Smartphones are used by 97% of internet users to access the web in 2024.
- Globally, 93.8% of internet users access via mobile devices.
- There are 7.89 billion cellular mobile connections worldwide in 2024.
- Mobile broadband subscriptions reached 6.0 billion in 2023.
- Fixed broadband subscriptions globally totaled 1.43 billion in 2023.
- 62% of web traffic comes from mobile devices in 2023.
- Average number of mobile connections per person is 1.17 globally in 2024.
- 5G connections are expected to reach 1.76 billion by end-2024.
- Dial-up connections have dropped to less than 0.2% of total broadband.
- Fixed wireless access connections grew 20% YoY to 140 million in 2023.
- 4.88 billion people use smartphones for internet access in 2024.
- Desktop/laptop usage for internet is 59.1% globally in 2024.
- Tablet usage accounts for 11.4% of device types for web access.
- Console and smart TV usage for internet is 7.7% worldwide.
- Wearables contribute 2.8% to internet device usage globally.
- Mobile internet traffic grew 25% YoY in 2023.
- Fixed internet connections per 100 people average 17.3 globally.
- Household computer ownership is 55% in developed countries, 25% developing.
- 85% of internet users in Asia access via mobile in 2023.
- In Africa, 80% of web traffic is mobile-generated in 2023.
- Latin America sees 74% mobile internet usage share.
- Europe has 68% of internet access via mobile devices.
- North America mobile web traffic at 55% of total.
- Global average download speed on fixed broadband is 91 Mbps in Q4 2023.
- Mobile download speeds average 54 Mbps worldwide in 2023.
- 4G connections make up 60% of mobile broadband subs.
- Satellite internet connections are 0.1% but growing fast.
Devices and Access Interpretation
While the desktop stubbornly lingers like a polite guest at a party, the world has decisively moved the entire soiree into its pocket, proving that the most powerful portal to humanity's knowledge and nonsense is now a slab of glass we casually drop on the couch.
Growth and Projections
- Global internet users expected to reach 5.6 billion by 2025.
- Internet penetration forecasted to hit 70% by 2025.
- Annual growth rate of users is 2.6% from 2023-2024.
- Mobile connections to grow to 8.7 billion by 2025.
- 5G subscriptions to 2.55 billion by end-2025.
- Fixed broadband to increase 5% annually to 2027.
- Global data traffic to quadruple by 2028 to 236 EB/month.
- Mobile data traffic CAGR 25% from 2022-2028.
- Africa internet users to grow 8% annually to 2025.
- Asia-Pacific users growth slows to 2.5% per year.
- Latin America penetration to 75% by 2025.
- IoT connections to reach 29.3 billion by 2023 end, growing further.
- E-commerce sales to grow 10% annually to $8 trillion by 2027.
- Social media users to 5.85 billion by 2027.
- Average daily online time to rise to 7 hours 20 min by 2025.
- Fixed broadband speeds to double to 200 Mbps by 2028.
- Mobile speeds to 150 Mbps average by 2025.
- Rural connectivity to improve, closing gap by 25% by 2025.
- Gender parity in usage to reach 95% by 2025.
- AI-driven traffic to 15% of total by 2028.
Growth and Projections Interpretation
Humanity is constructing a digital leviathan so voracious and all-consuming that by 2025 we'll essentially be paying rent in both the physical world and the cloud, spending nearly a third of our lives online to feed its 236-exabyte-a-month appetite for cat videos, e-commerce, and AI-generated small talk.
Penetration and Users
- As of January 2024, there are 5.44 billion active internet users worldwide, equating to 67.5% of the global population.
- In 2023, global internet penetration reached 66.2%, up from 65.4% in 2022.
- By mid-2023, 5.3 billion people were using the internet, representing two-thirds of the world's population.
- Internet users grew by 144 million (+2.6%) between January 2023 and January 2024.
- As of 2024, 67% of the global population has access to the internet.
- In 2022, there were 5.16 billion internet users globally.
- Global internet penetration rate stood at 65% in 2023.
- From 2000 to 2023, internet users increased from 413 million to 5.3 billion.
- 75.8% of internet users are aged 16-64 globally in 2024.
- Female internet users make up 51.5% of total users worldwide as of 2024.
- Urban areas account for 57% of global internet users in 2023.
- In 2023, Asia hosted 2.9 billion internet users, 53% of global total.
- Africa had 569 million internet users in 2023, 6.9% penetration rate.
- Europe had 1.03 billion internet users in early 2024.
- Latin America and the Caribbean had 503 million users in 2023.
- Middle East had 192 million internet users in 2023.
- North America had 392 million users in 2023.
- Oceania/Australia had 31 million internet users in 2023.
- China alone has 1.07 billion internet users as of 2023.
- India has 881.3 million internet users in 2024.
- United States has 311.3 million internet users in 2024.
- Brazil has 183.6 million internet users in 2024.
- Indonesia has 212.9 million users in 2024.
- Nigeria has 103 million internet users in 2023.
- Global unique mobile internet users reached 4.95 billion in 2023.
- 92.1% of internet users also use social media in 2024.
- 63.9% of the world's population is active on social media.
- Internet users aged 18-24 represent 20.1% of global users.
- Adults aged 35-44 make up 19.7% of internet users worldwide.
- 4.9 billion people use the internet via mobile phones as of 2024.
- In 2023, 59% of the global population was online daily.
Penetration and Users Interpretation
With a staggering two-thirds of humanity now plugged in, the internet's global sprawl is nearly complete, yet the persistent digital divide reminds us that for all our connectivity, universal access remains the final, formidable frontier.
Regional and Demographic Breakdown
- Asia: 8 hours 20 minutes daily internet use in 2024.
- Africa: 5 hours 7 minutes average daily online time.
- Europe: 6 hours 25 minutes daily internet usage.
- Latin America: 8 hours 35 minutes per day online.
- Middle East: 7 hours 12 minutes daily usage.
- North America: 6 hours 58 minutes average daily.
- 16-24 year olds spend 8 hours 14 minutes online daily.
- 25-34 year olds average 7 hours 47 minutes daily.
- 35-44: 7 hours 5 minutes per day on internet.
- 45-54: 6 hours 32 minutes daily usage.
- 55-64: 5 hours 51 minutes online average.
- Gender split: Males 67.8%, females 67.2% penetration.
- Urban internet penetration 75%, rural 50% globally.
- India penetration 64%, 881 million users.
- China 75.6% penetration, 1.07 billion users.
- US 92.0% penetration, 311 million users.
- Brazil 86.2% penetration, 183 million users.
- Nigeria 45.5% penetration, 103 million users.
- Germany 93% penetration, 78 million users.
- Japan 94.4% penetration, 118 million users.
- Russia 85% penetration, 122 million users.
- Sub-Saharan Africa penetration 30.4% in 2023.
- Northern Europe 97% internet penetration.
- South Asia 52% penetration rate.
- Arab States 71% penetration.
- Females in LDCs have 37% less usage than males.
- Youth (15-24) penetration 80% globally.
- Elderly (65+) penetration 60% in developed world.
- Top 20% income households 90% connected, bottom 40% 40%.
Regional and Demographic Breakdown Interpretation
Across the globe, our daily lives now exist on a digital tightrope, where regions like Latin America and Asia log marathon online sessions, youth are practically natives, and yet stark divides in access reveal a world still struggling to connect all its citizens equally.
Usage Time and Behavior
- Global average time spent online per day is 6 hours 58 minutes in 2024.
- Internet users spend 2 hours 25 minutes daily on social media globally.
- Average daily video content consumption is 2 hours 24 minutes worldwide.
- 59.3% of internet users research products online before buying.
- 52.6% use the internet for news consumption daily.
- Global online shopping penetration is 48.7% of users.
- Average daily messaging time via internet is 58 minutes.
- 45.2% of users access online banking weekly.
- Gaming on the internet occupies 1 hour 8 minutes daily average.
- Email usage averages 58 minutes per day globally.
- 38.4% use ride-hailing apps monthly worldwide.
- Food delivery apps used by 33.2% of internet users.
- Global web traffic to entertainment sites is 12.5% of total.
- Social media traffic share is 18.4% of all web visits.
- Search engines account for 8.7% of global internet traffic.
- Video streaming sites receive 15.2% of web traffic.
- Adults spend 7 hours 12 minutes online daily excluding work.
- Mobile app usage averages 4 hours 39 minutes per day.
- 95 minutes daily on YouTube among video platforms.
- WhatsApp messaging time is 18 hours 45 minutes monthly average.
- TikTok users average 33 hours 44 minutes monthly.
- Facebook daily active users spend 30.9 minutes.
- Instagram time per user is 33.4 minutes daily.
- Daily online news time is 32 minutes globally.
- E-commerce sites visited 7.8 times monthly per user.
- Online video watched 17.7 hours monthly average.
- Podcasts consumed by 30% of users, 7 hours monthly.
- Average websites visited per day is 89 by users.
- Peak internet usage hours are 9 PM to midnight globally.
- Weekend online time 15% higher than weekdays.
Usage Time and Behavior Interpretation
If we are not careful, the internet's magnificent promise of connecting the world will be reduced to a global, round-the-clock shift of shopping, scrolling, and watching, punctuated by the occasional email we pretend we’ll answer tomorrow.
Sources & References
- Reference 1DATAREPORTALdatareportal.comVisit source
- Reference 2STATISTAstatista.comVisit source
- Reference 3ITUitu.intVisit source
- Reference 4INTERNETWORLDSTATSinternetworldstats.comVisit source
- Reference 5HOOTSUITEhootsuite.comVisit source
- Reference 6GSMAgsma.comVisit source
- Reference 7SPEEDTESTspeedtest.netVisit source
- Reference 8CISCOcisco.comVisit source