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Countries with the Highest Number of Internet Users (2025)

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by Fabio Duarte
Last Updated: May 21, 2025

The number of internet users around the world continues to grow each year. 

In general, nations with larger populations are likely to have more internet users, but there are countries that buck the trend.

Below, we’ll dive deeper into the figures and reveal which countries currently have the most internet users.

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Top International Internet Stats

  • China has over 1 billion internet users
  • More than 95% of Americans use the internet
  • Almost 70% of the global population is online
  • 23.3% of internet users live in East Asia
  • Northern Europe has the highest internet penetration rate (97.7%)
  • South Africans average a global high of 9 hours 37 minutes per day on the internet

Which Country Has the Most Internet Users?

Perhaps unsurprisingly, given its enormous population, China leads the way for global internet users with an estimated 1.11 billion. Nearly 3 in 4 people (78.17%) in China use the internet.

China has over 1 billion users

India currently ranks second with just under half of its population (55.1%) using the internet, which accounts for 806 million people.

The US rounds off the top three with 322 million of its 340.1 million population using the internet (95.68%).

Here are the top 25 nations ranked by total number of internet users:

Rank

Nation

Region

Internet Users

Population

Internet Penetration Rate

1

China

Asia

1.11 billion

1.416 billion

78.17%

2

India

Asia

806 million

1.464 billion

55.1%

3

US

North America

332 million

347 million

95.68%

4

Indonesia

Asia

212 million

286 million

74.13%

5

Brazil

South America

183 million

213 million

85.92%

6

Russia

Europe/Asia

133 million

144 million

92.36%

7

Pakistan

Asia

116 million

255 million

45.49%

8

Mexico

North America

110 million

132 million

83.33%

9

Japan

Asia

109 million

123 million

88.62%

10

Nigeria

Africa

107 million

238 million

44.96%

11

Philippines

Asia

97.5 million

117 million

83.33%

12

Egypt

Africa

96.3 million

118 million

81.61%

13

Vietnam

Asia

79.8 million

102 million

78.24%

14

Germany

Europe

78.9 million

84 million

93.9%

15

Bangladesh

Asia

77.7 million

176 million

44.15%

16

Turkey

Europe/Asia

77.3 million

87.7 million

88.14%

17

Iran

Asia

73.2 million

92.4 million

79.22%

18

UK

Europe

67.8 million

65.6 million

97.41%

19

Thailand

Asia

65.4 million

71.6 million

91.34%

20

France

Europe

63.4 million

66.7 million

95.05%

21

Italy

Europe

53.3 million

59 million

90.33%

22

South Africa

Africa

50.8 million

64.8 million

78.4%

23

South Korea

Asia

50.4 million

51.7 million

97.49%

24

Spain

Europe

46.2 million

47.9 million

96.45%

25

Argentina

South America

41.2 million

45.9 million

89.76%

Sources: Data Reportal, Worldometer

Internet Adoption Statistics By Nation

In total, six countries have an internet adoption rate of 99%

  • Denmark
  • Netherlands
  • Norway
  • Saudi Arabia
  • Switzerland
  • UAE

Here are the top 20 nations by internet adoption rate:

Rank

Nation

Region

Internet Adoption

=1

Denmark

Europe

99%

=1

Netherlands

Europe

99%

=1

Norway

Europe

99%

=1

Saudi Arabia

Asia

99%

=1

Switzerland

Europe

99%

=1

UAE

Asia

99%

7

Ireland

Europe

98.9%

8

Sweden

Europe

98.3%

9

Finland

Europe

98.2%

10

UK

Europe

97.8%

11

Malaysia

Asia

97.7%

12

South Korea

Asia

97.4%

13

Australia

Oceania

97.1%

=14

Belgium

Europe

96.4%

=14

Spain

Europe

96.4%

16

New Zealand

Oceania

96.2%

17

Hong Kong

Asia

96%

18

Singapore

Asia

95.8%

19

Austria

Europe

95.3%

=20

Taiwan

Asia

95.2%

=20

Canada

North America

95.2%

-

World

-

67.9%

Source: Data Reportal

Internet Adoption Statistics By Region

Around 1 in 4 (23.3%) internet users live in East Asia. This heavily populated region has an internet penetration rate of 78.5% – almost 10% higher than the global penetration rate (67.9%).

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Northern Europe has the world’s highest internet penetration rate (97.7%)

While East Africa has the lowest internet penetration rate (23.5%).

Here are the global internet users and adoption rates by region in full:

Region

Share of Global Internet Users

Internet Penetration Rate

East Asia

23.3%

78.5%

South Asia

20.1%

53.8%

South-East Asia

9.8%

78.2%

South America

6.5%

83.2%

North America

6.5%

93.3%

Eastern Europe

4.6%

90.6%

West Asia

4.3%

75.9%

North Africa

3.6%

73%

West Africa

3.5%

42.5%

Western Europe

3.4%

95.1%

Central America

2.6%

79.2%

East Africa

2.6%

28.5%

Southern Europe

2.5%

91.6%

Northern Europe

1.9%

97.7%

Central Africa

1.3%

33.6%

Central Asia

1.2%

80.8%

South Africa

1%

77%

Oceania

0.6%

77.5%

Caribbean

0.6%

69.8%

World

100%

67.9%

Sources: Data Reportal, Statista

Global Internet Users Over Time

The exact number of global internet users is hard to pinpoint. However, various reliable sources place the figure somewhere between 5.05 billion and 5.56 billion. That means 63% to 69% of the global population is online.

Here’s the number of internet users according to a few different reputable sources:

Source

Internet Users

Percentage of Population

Data Reportal

5.56 billion

69%

ITU

5.5 billion

68%

World Bank

5.5 billion

68%

CIA World Factbook

5.05 billion

63%

Average

5.4 billion

67%

According to Data Reportal figures, the number of internet users has increased by over 2x since 2013.

Here’s how the global internet user base has grown over time:

Year

Internet Users

Increase Over Previous Year

2013

2.534 billion

-

2014

2.8 billion

+10.5%

2015

3.004 billion

+7.3%

2016

3.423 billion

+13.9%

2017

3.679 billion

+7.5%

2018

3.977 billion

+8.1%

2019

4.335 billion

+9%

2020

4.627 billion

+6.7%

2021

4.962 billion

+7.2%

2022

5.060 billion

+2%

2023

5.158 billion

+1.9%

2024

5.35 billion

+3.7%

2025

5.56 billion

+3.9%

Source: Data Reportal

Unconnected Populations

The latest data reveals that there are approximately 2.57 billion people who do not use the internet.

While South Asia may have hundreds of millions of internet users, there are also many millions who do not use the internet. It is estimated that South Asia has an unconnected population of 958.8 million – more than double the next largest unconnected regional population (East Asia’s 356.3 million).

Rank

Region

People Who Do Not Use the Internet

1

South Asia

958.8 million

2

East Asia

356.3 million

3

East Africa

362.6 million

4

West Africa

265.1 million

5

South-East Asia

151.8 million

6

Central Africa

143.5 million

7

North Africa

74.1 million

8

South America

73.5 million

9

West Asia

75.1 million

10

Central America

38.4 million

11

Eastern Europe

26.9 million

12

North America

25.8 million

13

South Africa

16.9 million

14

Central Asia

15.9 million

15

Caribbean

13.4 million

16

Southern Europe

12.6 million

17

Oceania

10.4 million

18

Western Europe

9.8 million

19

Northern Europe

2.5 million

-

Global

2.57 billion

In terms of nations, the largest unconnected population resides in India. In total, over 650 million Indians do not use the internet – that accounts for 44.7% of the population.

Rank

Nation

Region

Unconnected Population

% of Offline Population

1

India

Asia

651,619,000

44.7%

2

China

Asia

311,901,000

22%

3

Pakistan

Asia

137,453,000

54.3%

4

Nigeria

Africa

128,323,000

54.6%

5

Ethiopia

Africa

105,209,000

78.7%

6

Bangladesh

Asia

96,908,000

55.5%

7

DR Congo

Africa

77,059,000

69.4%

8

Indonesia

Asia

72,172,000

25.4%

9

Tanzania

Africa

49,305,000

70.9%

10

Uganda

Africa

36,514,000

72%

Unsurprisingly, highly populated nations dominate the top 10 unconnected countries.

However, the list looks very different when focusing on the percentage of unconnected people.

Over 90% of North Korea, South Sudan, and Somalia are offline.

Rank

Nation

Region

% of Offline Population

Unconnected Population

1

North Korea

Asia

>99.9%

No data

2

Burundi

Africa

87.5%

12,441,000

3

Chad

Africa

86.8%

17,992,000

4

CAR

Africa

84.5%

4,582,000

5

South Sudan

Africa

84.3%

10,167,000

6

Yemen

Asia

82.3%

33,893,000

7

Malawi

Africa

82%

17,982,000

8

Mozambique

Africa

80.2%

28,177,000

9

Eritrea

Africa

80%

2,856,000

10

Madagascar

Africa

79.6%

25,752,000

Source: Data Reportal

International Internet Use by Device

With an average time of 9 hours and 37 minutes of daily internet use, South Africans spend the most time online per day.

Not far behind, Brazil also averages over 9 hours of internet use per day.

Below are the top nations by average daily time spent using the internet:

Country

Average Daily Time Spent Using the Internet

South Africa

9 hours 37 minutes

Brazil

9 hours 9 minutes

Philippines

8 hours 52 minutes

Chile

8 hours 45 minutes

Colombia

8 hours 44 minutes

Argentina

8 hours 44 minutes

Russia

8 hours 38 minutes

Malaysia

8 hours 13 minutes

UAE

7 hours 59 minutes

Thailand

7 hours 54 minutes

Worldwide

6 hours 38 minutes

Mobile

According to the latest data, over 63% of internet access comes from mobile devices.

On average, Ghanaians spend 5 hours and 43 minutes using mobiles to access the internet each day – that’s almost 2 hours more than the global average.

Country

Average Daily Time Spent Using the Internet on Mobile

Ghana

5 hours, 43 minutes

Philippines

5 hours, 21 minutes

Brazil

5 hours, 12 minutes

South Africa

5 hours, 11 minutes

Thailand

5 hours

Chile

4 hours, 58 minutes

Kenya

4 hours, 57 minutes

Colombia

4 hours, 47 minutes

Malaysia

4 hours, 42 minutes

Argentina

4 hours, 40 minutes

Worldwide

3 hours, 46 minutes

According to recent data, all (98.7%) adults aged 18 to 64 access the internet via a smartphone in Indonesia.

The global average for accessing the internet via a smartphone sits at 96.3%.

Country

% of Population Who Access the Internet via a Smartphone

Indonesia

98.7%

Philippines

98.5%

South Africa

98.5%

Brazil

98.4%

Malaysia

98.4%

Thailand

98%

Vietnam

97.7%

Saudi Arabia

97.6%

Chile

97.3%

Argentina

97.2%

Worldwide

96.3%

Computer

No country averages more time spent accessing the internet via a computer than Russia (4 hours and 31 minutes). That figure equates to 1 hour and 39 minutes more than the global average of 2 hours and 52 minutes.

Country

Average Daily Time Spent Using the Internet on a Computer

Russia

4 hours, 31 minutes

South Africa

4 hours, 26 minutes

Argentina

4 hours, 4 minutes

Brazil

3 hours, 57 minutes

Colombia

3 hours, 57 minutes

Portugal

3 hours, 55 minutes

Bulgaria

3 hours, 54 minutes

Chile

3 hours, 47 minutes

UAE

3 hours, 32 minutes

Malaysia

3 hours, 31 minutes

Israel

3 hours, 31 minutes

Worldwide

2 hours, 52 minutes

The vast majority (84%) of people living in Czechia access the internet via a computer.

In total, 7 of the top 10 nations for populations who access the internet via computer are situated in Europe.

Country

% of Population Who Access the Internet via a Computer

Czechia

84%

Portugal

81.5%

Russia

81%

Canada

80.8%

Austria

80.4%

Poland

80.4%

Serbia

80.3%

Switzerland

80.1%

Croatia

79.8%

South Africa

79.1%

Worldwide

61.5%

Source: Data Reportal

Key Takeaways

Given that the gap between China’s number of internet users and second-placed India’s internet users is larger than any other country’s total population, a change in the top spot is unlikely to occur any time soon.

With that, Asia as a continent will continue to lead the way in terms of internet users as the global figure continues to grow.

For more internet-related statistics, take a look at these other blog posts: Alarming Average Screen Time Statistics and Amount of Data Created Daily.

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Written By

Fabio Duarte

Research Associate

Fabio is a research associate at Exploding Topics. Since 2021, Fabio has researched, written, and edited articles for the Explo... Read more