Average global internet use is up to 7 hours 18 minutes per day, and online activity keeps expanding alongside it. At the same time, security signals are getting harder to ignore, from phishing making up 83% of malware in 2023 to major shares of websites still not supporting TLS. Put those together with growing broadband gaps, cloud spending forecasts, and shifting buying habits, and you get a picture that feels anything but static.
Key Takeaways
- In 2024, average daily time spent on the Internet across devices was 7 hours 18 minutes per day (DataReportal global average)
- 2.06 billion people bought online in 2023 (UNCTAD estimate cited in its digital economy monitoring)
- In 2023, there were 262 million people purchasing online on a cross-border basis (UNCTAD estimate referenced in UNCTAD digital economy figures)
- 46.7% of the world’s population used the Internet in 2012, rising to 66.2% in 2024
- Google reported that phishing accounted for 83% of all malware in 2023 in its Transparency Report coverage
- In 2023, 77% of breaches in Verizon’s DBIR involved some form of criminal activity
- The Internet Archive reported that 2024 averaged 103 million monthly active users across its web services
- In 2023, the FCC estimated 51.6 million Americans lacked access to fixed terrestrial broadband meeting the benchmark standard
- Satellite broadband coverage reached 2.7 billion people worldwide (as estimated in industry coverage maps used for ITU planning)
- The EU Digital Decade targets: 100% of households covered by gigabit connectivity by 2030
- Netcraft reported that 37.7% of websites did not support TLS in its January 2024 Web Server Survey data
- In 2024, the global average share of responses with ‘no-cache’ headers was 18.0% (HTTP Archive header usage measurement)
- In 2023, the global digital advertising market was $638.0 billion (eMarketer forecast for 2023)
- Global mobile data traffic per smartphone was 15.8 GB per month in 2024 (Ericsson Mobility Report estimate)
- NIST reported that there were 111,654,976 DNS query logs in its datasets used for Internet measurement in 2023
Internet use keeps growing alongside soaring security and cloud costs, from 7 hours daily online to major breaches and phishing.
Related reading
User Adoption
1In 2024, average daily time spent on the Internet across devices was 7 hours 18 minutes per day (DataReportal global average)[1]
Verified
22.06 billion people bought online in 2023 (UNCTAD estimate cited in its digital economy monitoring)[2]
Verified
3In 2023, there were 262 million people purchasing online on a cross-border basis (UNCTAD estimate referenced in UNCTAD digital economy figures)[3]
Directional
4In 2024, 72.1% of Internet users watched online video at least monthly (IAB/Google measurement in 2024 State of Interactive or similar index)[4]
Directional
5In 2024, 55% of internet users reported buying products online at least once in the past 12 months (OECD consumer survey data summary)[5]
Verified
User Adoption Interpretation
With 7 hours 18 minutes spent online per day and 55% of users buying online in the past 12 months, user adoption is clearly accelerating as more people translate everyday usage into frequent purchasing behavior.
More related reading
Global Usage
146.7% of the world’s population used the Internet in 2012, rising to 66.2% in 2024[6]
Single source
Global Usage Interpretation
Global Usage has surged from 46.7% of the world population using the Internet in 2012 to 66.2% in 2024, showing steady expansion in worldwide connectivity over the past decade.
More related reading
Security & Resilience
1Google reported that phishing accounted for 83% of all malware in 2023 in its Transparency Report coverage[7]
Directional
2In 2023, 77% of breaches in Verizon’s DBIR involved some form of criminal activity[8]
Verified
3The Internet Archive reported that 2024 averaged 103 million monthly active users across its web services[9]
Verified
Security & Resilience Interpretation
For Security & Resilience, the data shows phishing driving 83% of malware in 2023 while 77% of breaches in Verizon’s DBIR involved criminal activity, underscoring that the biggest threat vectors remain human-driven and must be addressed to protect internet services.
Infrastructure & Economy
1In 2023, the FCC estimated 51.6 million Americans lacked access to fixed terrestrial broadband meeting the benchmark standard[10]
Verified
2Satellite broadband coverage reached 2.7 billion people worldwide (as estimated in industry coverage maps used for ITU planning)[11]
Directional
3The EU Digital Decade targets: 100% of households covered by gigabit connectivity by 2030[12]
Verified
4The EU Digital Decade target: 5G coverage for all populated areas by 2030[13]
Verified
5IDC forecasts global cloud infrastructure spending to reach $649 billion in 2027[14]
Verified
6Gartner forecast worldwide end-user spending on information security products and services to reach $267.6 billion in 2024[15]
Verified
7Gartner forecast global IT spending to reach $6.8 trillion in 2027[16]
Directional
8The Internet of Things (IoT) is projected to have 14.4 billion connections by 2022 (historical projection figure)[17]
Verified
9In 2024, the global CDN market size was $7.7 billion (2022-2028 forecast range reported by Fortune Business Insights)[18]
Verified
10The global cybersecurity market size was $173.2 billion in 2023 (Fortune Business Insights cybersecurity market page)[19]
Directional
11The global AI in cybersecurity market size was $24.6 billion in 2023 (Fortune Business Insights AI in cybersecurity page)[20]
Verified
Infrastructure & Economy Interpretation
With 51.6 million Americans still lacking benchmark fixed terrestrial broadband in 2023, the Infrastructure and Economy picture shows that massive investment is being pulled toward closing connectivity gaps and scaling demand, from 2.7 billion people covered by satellite broadband to global cloud spend projected to reach $649 billion by 2027.
More related reading
Industry Trends
1Netcraft reported that 37.7% of websites did not support TLS in its January 2024 Web Server Survey data[21]
Verified
2In 2024, the global average share of responses with ‘no-cache’ headers was 18.0% (HTTP Archive header usage measurement)[22]
Single source
3In 2023, the global digital advertising market was $638.0 billion (eMarketer forecast for 2023)[23]
Single source
4In 2023, business email compromise (BEC) accounted for 27% of reported cyber incidents in the Proofpoint dataset[24]
Verified
Industry Trends Interpretation
Industry Trends data show that insecure or suboptimal security and data handling remain persistent issues, with 37.7% of websites lacking TLS support in Netcraft’s January 2024 survey and BEC making up 27% of reported cyber incidents in 2023.
More related reading
Infrastructure & Cost
1Global mobile data traffic per smartphone was 15.8 GB per month in 2024 (Ericsson Mobility Report estimate)[25]
Directional
2NIST reported that there were 111,654,976 DNS query logs in its datasets used for Internet measurement in 2023[26]
Single source
3In 2023, global IPv6 adoption reached 46.1% (share of global unique IP addresses supporting IPv6, per APNIC/RIPE measurement summary)[27]
Verified
Infrastructure & Cost Interpretation
As Infrastructure & Cost pressures intensify, global mobile users are consuming about 15.8 GB of data per smartphone per month in 2024, while measurement data at the scale of 111,654,976 DNS query logs and IPv6 adoption reaching 46.1% in 2023 show how growing traffic and address needs are pushing networks toward greater efficiency and modernization.
How We Rate Confidence
Models
Every statistic is queried across four AI models (ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Perplexity). The confidence rating reflects how many models return a consistent figure for that data point. Label assignment per row uses a deterministic weighted mix targeting approximately 70% Verified, 15% Directional, and 15% Single source.
Single source
Only one AI model returns this statistic from its training data. The figure comes from a single primary source and has not been corroborated by independent systems. Use with caution; cross-reference before citing.
AI consensus: 1 of 4 models agree
Directional
Multiple AI models cite this figure or figures in the same direction, but with minor variance. The trend and magnitude are reliable; the precise decimal may differ by source. Suitable for directional analysis.
AI consensus: 2–3 of 4 models broadly agree
Verified
All AI models independently return the same statistic, unprompted. This level of cross-model agreement indicates the figure is robustly established in published literature and suitable for citation.
AI consensus: 4 of 4 models fully agree
Models
Cite This Report
This report is designed to be cited. We maintain stable URLs and versioned verification dates. Copy the format appropriate for your publication below.
APA
Stefan Wendt. (2026, February 13). Internet Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/internet-statistics
MLA
Stefan Wendt. "Internet Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/internet-statistics.
Chicago
Stefan Wendt. 2026. "Internet Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/internet-statistics.
References
- 1datareportal.com/reports/digital-2024-global-overview-report
- 2unctad.org/publication/united-nations-conference-trade-and-development-report-2024-digital-economy-report
- 3unctad.org/topic/ecommerce-and-digital-economy
- 4iab.com/insights/
- 5oecd.org/sti/consumer/e-commerce/
- 6itu.int/en/ITU-D/Statistics/Documents/facts/ICTFactsFigures2015.pdf
- 11itu.int/en/ITU-D/Statistics/Pages/default.aspx
- 7transparencyreport.google.com/child-safety/browse/phishing
- 8verizon.com/business/resources/reports/dbir/
- 9archive.org/about/
- 10fcc.gov/reports-research/reports/broadband-coverage-report
- 12digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/policies/gigabit-connectivity
- 13digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/policies/5g-connectivity
- 14idc.com/getdoc.jsp?containerId=US50025924
- 15gartner.com/en/newsroom/press-releases/2024-02-05-gartner-says-worldwide-end-user-spending-on-information-security-products-and-services
- 16gartner.com/en/newsroom/press-releases/2024-03-20-gartner-forecast-global-it-spending-to-grow-
- 17cisco.com/c/en/us/solutions/service-provider/visual-networking-index-vni/index.html
- 18fortunebusinessinsights.com/cdn-market-103610
- 19fortunebusinessinsights.com/cybersecurity-market-102660
- 20fortunebusinessinsights.com/ai-in-cybersecurity-market-109118
- 21news.netcraft.com/archives/2024/01/17/january-2024-web-server-survey/
- 22httparchive.org/reports/state-of-the-web
- 23emarketer.com/content/worldwide-digital-ad-spending-2023
- 24proofpoint.com/us/resources/threat-reports
- 25ericsson.com/en/reports-and-papers/mobility-report
- 26nvlpubs.nist.gov/nistpubs/ir/2024/NIST.IR.8499.pdf
- 27stats.apnic.net/ipv6