Hold onto your devices, because over two-thirds of humanity is now plugged into the digital world, reshaping everything from commerce and entertainment to how we connect and communicate.
Key Takeaways
- In 2023, there were 5.30 billion active internet users worldwide, equating to 65.9% of the global population.
- Internet penetration reached 92.4% in Northern Europe as of January 2023.
- India's internet user base grew to 759 million in 2022, with a penetration rate of 54%.
- Global IP traffic reached 3,300 exabytes in 2022, projected to hit 5,100 EB by 2023.
- Video traffic accounted for 82% of all internet traffic in 2022.
- Fixed broadband traffic grew at a CAGR of 9% from 2018-2023.
- Global e-commerce sales reached $5.8 trillion in 2023.
- E-commerce accounted for 19% of total retail sales globally in 2023.
- Amazon's revenue from online stores was $231.9 billion in 2022.
- There were 4.95 billion social media users worldwide in January 2024.
- YouTube had 2.5 billion monthly active users in 2023.
- Facebook users: 3.05 billion MAU in Q4 2023.
- Global fixed broadband subscriptions reached 1.38 billion in 2023.
- Average global fixed broadband speed was 93.68 Mbps in Q4 2023.
- 5G connections hit 1.76 billion worldwide by end-2023.
Global internet and e-commerce reach billions of users with growing traffic and social influence.
E-commerce and Digital Economy
- Global e-commerce sales reached $5.8 trillion in 2023.
- E-commerce accounted for 19% of total retail sales globally in 2023.
- Amazon's revenue from online stores was $231.9 billion in 2022.
- China’s e-commerce market size was $2.1 trillion in 2022.
- Global B2C e-commerce sales projected to $6.5 trillion by 2023.
- Mobile commerce sales hit $2.2 trillion globally in 2023.
- US e-commerce sales grew 7.8% to $1.03 trillion in 2023.
- Alibaba Group's GMV reached 8.3 trillion CNY ($1.2 trillion) in 2022.
- Digital advertising spend globally: $522 billion in 2022.
- E-commerce penetration in retail was 22% in 2023.
- Shopify merchants generated $197 billion GMV in 2022.
- Global online marketplace sales: $780 billion in 2022.
- India's e-commerce market to reach $350 billion by 2026.
- Fashion e-commerce sales: $759 billion globally in 2022.
- PayPal processed $1.5 trillion in payment volume in 2022.
- Electronics e-commerce: 24% of total e-commerce sales in 2023.
- Europe's e-commerce market: $777 billion in 2022.
- BNPL transactions reached $24 billion in US 2022.
- Global cross-border e-commerce: $785 billion in 2023.
- Walmart's e-commerce sales up 23% to $82 billion in 2023.
- Food and beverage e-commerce: $315 billion in 2023.
- Southeast Asia e-commerce GMV: $99 billion in 2022.
- JD.com revenue: 1.06 trillion CNY in 2022.
- Global SaaS market revenue: $195 billion in 2023.
- Travel e-commerce sales: $619 billion in 2023.
- Latin America e-commerce: $263 billion in 2023.
- Pinduoduo GMV: 4.37 trillion CNY in 2022.
- US marketplace e-commerce: $358 billion in 2022.
- Global cloud computing market: $545 billion in 2023.
E-commerce and Digital Economy Interpretation
The numbers paint a clear picture: we have officially moved from shopping in the world to shopping at the world, one digital transaction at a time.
Global Internet Users and Penetration
- In 2023, there were 5.30 billion active internet users worldwide, equating to 65.9% of the global population.
- Internet penetration reached 92.4% in Northern Europe as of January 2023.
- India's internet user base grew to 759 million in 2022, with a penetration rate of 54%.
- By 2023, 67% of the world's population had access to the internet, up from 53% in 2018.
- In 2022, the United States had 311 million internet users, representing 93% penetration.
- Africa’s internet penetration stood at 43% in 2023, with 616 million users.
- China had 1.07 billion internet users as of December 2022, 75.6% of its population.
- Brazil's internet users numbered 181.4 million in 2023, 85% penetration.
- In 2023, 90% of South Koreans used the internet, totaling 47 million users.
- Global internet users increased by 144 million (+2.6%) between 2022 and 2023.
- By mid-2023, 4.9 billion people (63%) used the internet, per ITU estimates.
- Japan's internet penetration was 94.7% in 2022 with 118 million users.
- In 2023, 82% of Germans accessed the internet, about 68.6 million users.
- Indonesia had 212 million internet users in 2023, 77% penetration.
- The UK had 67.8 million internet users in 2023, 99.5% of population.
- Nigeria's internet users reached 103 million in 2023, 48% penetration.
- In 2022, 66.2% of the world population was online.
- Russia's internet users totaled 133 million in 2023, 93% penetration.
- Mexico had 93 million internet users in 2023, 72% penetration.
- Australia's internet penetration was 96.8% in 2023 with 25.4 million users.
- Pakistan's internet users grew to 116 million in 2023, 49% penetration.
- In 2023, 88% of French population used internet, 59.8 million users.
- Egypt had 75.7 million internet users in 2023, 70% penetration.
- Canada's internet users numbered 33.6 million in 2023, 85% penetration.
- Turkey's internet penetration reached 82.5% in 2023 with 70.5 million users.
- Vietnam had 78.44 million internet users in 2023, 79% penetration.
- In 2023, global mobile internet users were 4.88 billion.
- Philippines internet users: 85.2 million in 2023, 76% penetration.
- Iran's internet users: 84 million in 2023, 97% penetration.
- Thailand: 57.3 million internet users, 81% penetration in 2023.
Global Internet Users and Penetration Interpretation
While humanity's global digital campfire now draws in two-thirds of the planet, the warmth of its light is still patchy, brilliantly illuminating nearly everyone in Northern Europe while barely flickering for half of India and Africa.
Infrastructure, Speed, and Security
- Global fixed broadband subscriptions reached 1.38 billion in 2023.
- Average global fixed broadband speed was 93.68 Mbps in Q4 2023.
- 5G connections hit 1.76 billion worldwide by end-2023.
- Global DDoS attacks increased 24% YoY in 2023.
- Fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) passed 1 billion homes globally in 2023.
- Average mobile download speed: 58.65 Mbps in Q4 2023.
- Global data center IP traffic: 10.4 ZB in 2022, projected 20.6 ZB by 2025.
- Cyberattacks cost global economy $8 trillion in 2023.
- Wi-Fi 7 adoption began with peak speeds over 40 Gbps in 2023.
- Global submarine cable capacity grew 20% in 2023.
- 83% of organizations experienced phishing attacks in 2023.
- Global IPv6 adoption reached 39% in 2023.
- Data centers consumed 1-1.3% of global electricity in 2022.
- Average latency for gaming: 45 ms globally in 2023.
- 5G fixed wireless access connections: 15 million in 2023.
- Ransomware attacks up 93% in 2023.
- Global edge computing market: $16.45 billion in 2023.
- Fixed wireless access speeds averaged 150 Mbps in 2023.
- Bot traffic was 37.2% of all internet traffic in 2023.
- Global CDNs mitigated 198 million DDoS attacks in 2023.
- Satellite broadband connections projected 6 million by 2023.
- API attacks surged 1,984% YoY in 2023.
- Global hyperscale data centers: 1,066 in 2023.
- Average connection speed in Singapore: 290 Mbps fixed in 2023.
- Malware variants: 5.5 billion detected in 2023.
- Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites: 6,000+ operational in 2023.
Infrastructure, Speed, and Security Interpretation
We've built an astoundingly fast global nervous system that is thrillingly efficient at distributing both cat videos and crippling cyberattacks at a staggering scale.
Internet Traffic and Data Consumption
- Global IP traffic reached 3,300 exabytes in 2022, projected to hit 5,100 EB by 2023.
- Video traffic accounted for 82% of all internet traffic in 2022.
- Fixed broadband traffic grew at a CAGR of 9% from 2018-2023.
- Mobile data traffic increased 2.7-fold from 2019-2023.
- Global internet traffic averaged 396 Mbps per fixed broadband connection in 2023.
- Gaming traffic was 6% of total internet traffic in 2023.
- In 2022, average global fixed broadband speeds reached 110 Mbps.
- Consumer IoT devices generated 18% of mobile data traffic in 2022.
- Global internet traffic grew 23% YoY in 2022.
- Video on demand was 58% of internet traffic in 2022.
- North America accounted for 22% of global internet traffic in 2022.
- Average daily data consumption per smartphone was 2.5 GB in 2022.
- HTTPS traffic comprised 89% of web traffic in Q4 2022.
- Global average mobile connection speed was 59.4 Mbps in 2022.
- Internet video traffic reached 3.1 billion hours per day in 2023.
- Wi-Fi 6 traffic grew faster than overall Wi-Fi traffic in 2023.
- Business IP traffic averaged 1.3 TB per month per employee in 2023.
- Asia Pacific generated 47% of global mobile data traffic in 2022.
- Peer-to-peer traffic was 10% of fixed traffic in 2022.
- Global internet traffic peaked at 25% above pre-pandemic levels in 2022.
- Live video streaming was 3% of total traffic but growing rapidly in 2022.
- Average fixed broadband data usage per connection was 634 GB/month in 2023.
- Mobile traffic from video was 67% of total mobile traffic in 2023.
- In 2022, global web traffic hit 100 billion visits per day.
- Latin America mobile data traffic CAGR 31% 2019-2023.
- Global average peak internet speed 200 Mbps in 2023.
- Social media traffic 10% of total internet traffic in 2022.
- DDoS attacks mitigated 20 million per day in 2022.
Internet Traffic and Data Consumption Interpretation
If you ever wonder why we’re all so tired, consider that the internet is now a ceaseless, data-guzzling organism whose primary diet is video, with a side of relentless growth, served at speeds that make our patience for anything less than instant feel like a personal failing.
Social Media and Content Consumption
- There were 4.95 billion social media users worldwide in January 2024.
- YouTube had 2.5 billion monthly active users in 2023.
- Facebook users: 3.05 billion MAU in Q4 2023.
- Instagram reached 2 billion monthly users in 2023.
- TikTok had 1.5 billion users globally in 2023.
- WhatsApp users: 2 billion monthly active in 2023.
- Snapchat had 414 million DAU in Q3 2023.
- LinkedIn users: 1 billion members in 2023.
- Twitter (X) had 556 million MAU in 2023.
- Pinterest users: 498 million MAU in Q3 2023.
- Reddit had 73 million DAU in Q3 2023.
- WeChat users: 1.3 billion MAU in 2023.
- Average daily social media usage: 2 hours 23 minutes in 2023.
- Facebook video views: 8 billion per day in 2023.
- TikTok average watch time: 52 minutes per day per user.
- Instagram Reels reached 2 billion plays daily in 2023.
- YouTube Shorts generated 70 billion daily views in 2023.
- Global social commerce market: $992 billion in 2023.
- 60% of Instagram users discover products on the platform.
- WhatsApp Business users: 175 million monthly in 2023.
- LinkedIn ad revenue: $11.3 billion in 2023.
- TikTok Shop GMV: $20 billion in 2023.
- Facebook ad impressions: 13.65 trillion in Q4 2023.
- Snapchat AR users: 418 million in 2023.
- Global social media ad spend: $207 billion in 2023.
- Twitter impressions per day: 500 million in 2023.
- Pinterest monthly video views: 3 billion in 2023.
Social Media and Content Consumption Interpretation
The digital agora is now so colossal and woven into the fabric of daily life that humanity's combined two-and-a-half hour daily scroll has become a half-trillion dollar ad marketplace, where we shop, work, and watch eight billion videos a day with the zealous devotion once reserved for public squares and television.
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