Internet has become the most powerful medium of communication around the world in a short period of time. Through Internet, you can connect with your friends, family and relatives more conveniently than it was possible in the past. Modern ways of running a business over the Internet have also been introduced, which have enabled us to deal with clients and colleagues efficiently. Back in the 1990’s, the companies doing government research projects only used it, but now around 40% of the people living on the planet have Internet connection and more than 2.92 billion people across the globe access the Internet.
In 1995, the total Internet usage was less than 1% but since 1999, a great rise in the number of users has been observed due to the popularity of Windows 98. Nowadays there is no substitute of world wide web as this invention has become the best platform to get information for everybody either at schools, offices, colleges or at home. A recent report has showed that Internet users would reach more than 5 billion by the end of 2016. Analyzing the usage of Internet by continent then the majority of users are found in Asia followed by America, then Europe and then Africa. This article observes the countries with the highest number of Internet users.
10. France
The total number of Internet users in France is 55,429,382 and the penetration is 85.75%. The one-year growth rate of users is only 3% and the country’s share in world Internet users is also only 1.90%.
9. United Kingdom
The Great Britain is world’s one of the most technologically advanced country but in terms of number of Internet users it is behind many developing countries like Nigeria, India and Brazil. The total number of Internet users in the country is 57,075,826 and the one-year growth in the users is only 3%. Meanwhile the penetration is 89.90%, which means a large number of the population has access to the Internet.
8. Nigeria
Nigeria has 67,101,452 users of Internet. However in a survey conducted globally by the International Telecommunications Union on Internet penetration at homes, Nigeria ranked 87th with only 7.8 percent penetration. The survey also noted that the developing countries needed do more in giving significant access of Internet to the people, as it will create more job opportunities for them.
7. Germany
Germany is an advanced and modern country of Europe but in terms of the Internet usage it is still significantly behind the rest of the world. But some considerable progress has been seen in recent years and now almost all the members of the younger generation from 14 to 39 years of age are now online. Also the older generation 60 years and above are on the Internet. The total number of Internet users in the country is 71,727,55. Although the one-year growth of users is only 2% but the penetration of users is 86.78% and the country’s share of world Internet users is 2.46%. The daily usage of Internet on an average is 169 minutes per day.
6. Russia
Russia was the only super power once but after the disintegration many states became independent countries. Still Russia is a developed and advanced country with 84,437,793 Internet users. And according to statistics Russia had 77.5 million users of Internet in 2013 and this figure is expected to grow to 96.6 million Internet users in 2018 as the one-year growth of the country was 10%. The penetration of Internet users is 59.27% of the total population and the country’s share of world Internet users is 2.89%.
5. Brazil
Brazil is one of the developed countries of South America. Although South America comes at second last spot when we analyze the number of Internet users according to continents but Brazil is on the fifth place with 107,822,831 users, above many developed countries like Germany, Russia and U.K. The number of users is also increasing rapidly with 7% growth in a year. The country’s share of world Internet users is although 3.69% but the penetration is 53.37%. The Internet users in Brazil are mostly from the young generation with 18% of users age 18-24 and 30% of all users age 25-34.
4. Japan
Japan is also a big economy and is one of the most developed countries of the world. It is at the top in every industry and field. In terms of Internet users it is at number four with 109,252,912 users. The one-year user growth of the country was 8% with the penetration of 86.03%. And the country’s share of world Internet users is 3.74%. Internet is mainly used by adults in the country and in urban areas. But the use of Internet is not much as a government based survey showed that only 8.2% of Japanese were addicted to the web surfing.
3. India
India is a growing economy and the largest democracy of the world. The country is developing and advancing in technology rapidly, so are the Internet users. According to a report published in October 2014, India has seen an immense growth in its Internet users. The Internet users in India moved from 10 million to 100 million in a decade and from 100 to 200 million users in three years and in a year the number of Internet users in India has reached from 200 to 300 million. But the report also says that this number will reach 302 million by the end of this year and will beat United States and come on the second place.
2. United States
The U.S. was at the top of the global ranking till 2007 but from 2008 it is on second. The country currently has 279,834,232 Internet users. The user growth of the country is 7% with the penetration of 86.75% and the country’s share of world Internet users is 9.58%. According to research 87% of adult American use the Internet and over 80% of the country’s population has an Internet connection.
1. China
China is not only the largest country in terms of its population but it also has by far the highest number of Internet users. China has almost twice the number of Internet users than the United States. In China the first Internet connection was set up on 20th September 1987 but now it is the country with the most Internet users. According to some calculation it has about 642,261,240 users. Currently the user growth is 4%, with the penetration of 46.03%. The country’s share of world Internet users is 21.97% and came at the top in 2008.