Internet Usage Statistics
Author: Matthew Rogers
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Last Updated: April 2021
4.48 billion active internet users… over 58% of the global population, those are some pretty impressive numbers! But let’s dig a bit deeper…
Table of Contents
Global Internet Usage Statistics 2019
While the Internet may be accessed from all around the world, its usage varies considerably based on location.
As of June 2019, the percentage of active internet users across the globe were distributed as follows:
- Asia: 50.7%
- Europe: 16.0%
- Africa: 11.5%
- Latin America and the Caribbean: 10.0%
- North America: 7.2%
- Middle East: 3.9%
- Oceania/Australia: 0.6%
Countries with the Most Internet Users 2019
Internet usage fluctuates substantially depending on various factors in different regions of the world. With a world population of roughly 7.7 billion and climbing, 4.48 billion use the Internet globally.
In terms of countries, as of March 2019, China has the most active users, at 829 million. India hosts the second-highest number, with a total of 560 million, followed by the United States in third place, with 292.89 million.
Regions with far fewer internet users included Africa and the Middle East. English remains the most used language online, being used by over 25% of users.
Internet Usage Growth 2009 – 2019
Between 2009 and 2019, there was significant growth in internet usage. In June 2009, 24.7% of the world population was using the Internet, but by June 2019, this had more than doubled to 58.8%.
Fastest Growing Online Populations
Statistics for the fastest growing online populations are reflective in yearly user growth, as of January 2019. The Western Sahara region demonstrated the fastest growing online population, at a rate of 364%.
This is followed by Djibouti in second place, at a rate of 203%, and Tanzania in third, with 173%.
Internet Traffic Statistics 2019
Internet traffic statistics include factors such as domain name registrations, most visited websites globally, and top sites for social media, e-commerce, and news.
Total Number of Websites by Domain Name Registrations
Based on domain name registrations, there are 370,954,537 websites online. Of these, 50,555,429 are new generic top-level domains (ngTLDs), while 185,065,885 are generic top-level domains (gTLDs), and 135,333,223 are country code top-level domains (ccTLDs). Then all these domains usually need web hosts as well, no wonder the hosting industry is booming. The best web hosts constantly try to one-up one another to push the best pricing and features.
Number of Domains registered by TLD
TLD refers to top-level domains for website registration, which is ever-growing as the Internet evolves. With the largest share, 42.48% of domains are registered with .com, while .net comes in second with 4.30%, followed closely by .tk with 4.0%, and .de in fourth place with 3.87%, and .cn with 3.83%.
Top Countries with Registered Domains
While 32.5% of registered domains are from unknown countries, the United States garners the largest known share, with 26.25%. In the second place, is China, with 8.15%, followed by Canada, with 3.41%. In the fourth place, the Netherlands, with 3.41%, followed by hidden countries, with 3.30%.
Top Registrars by the Number of Registered Domains
GoDaddy.com, LLC, is the top registrar on the Internet, with 70,300,276 registered domains, followed by NameCheap, Inc., with 11,610,169, and Tucows Domains Inc. in third place, with 11,158,739 registered domains.
In the fourth place, is HiChina Zhicheng Technology Limited, with 7,610,202 registered domains, followed by Network Solutions, LLC, with 7,332,929.
Most Visited Websites in the World
Google.com is the most visited website in the world, with 42.46 billion visits per month. Youtube.com is in second place with 23.35 billion per month, followed by Facebook.com at 22.30 billion. In the fourth place, is Baidu.com with 10.45 billion per month, followed by Wikipedia.org with 5.33 billion.
Top Social Media Sites by Most Visitors
Facebook.com is the most used social media site with 22.30 billion monthly visitors and 2.38 billion active monthly users as of June 2019, followed by Twitter.com with 3.92 billion visitors and 321 million active users. Instagram.com in third place with 2.67 billion visitors and 1 billion active users.
Most Visited E-commerce and Shopping Websites
Amazon.com is the most visited e-commerce and shopping website with 236 billion visitors, followed by eBay.com with 809.98 million. AliExpress.com is in third place, with 679.45 million. In the fourth place, is Amazon.de, followed by Taobao.com.
Top News and Media Websites by Traffic
Yahoo.com is the top news and media website by traffic with 3.43 billion visitors, followed by Yahoo.co.jp with 2.08 billion, and Naver.com with 1.91 billion. Qq.com is in the fourth place, followed by MSN.com.
Mobile Internet Usage Statistics 2019
As of April 2019, there were 4 billion mobile internet users across the globe. In February 2019, Asia and Africa were at the top of mobile-first markets, with Nigeria in the lead for mobile internet usage, followed by India, with Ghana in the third place, followed by Kenya. For 2019, average daily mobile internet usage was forecasted at 132 minutes per day, up from 2018 consumption of 122 minutes.
Mobile vs. Desktop Usage
As mobile data usage continued to increase in 2010, desktop internet usage decreased dramatically before leveling out in early 2017. As of January 2019, around 53.2% of Internet users browse with a mobile device, while only 43.99% browse via desktop, and 2.72% via a tablet.