Countries with the Highest Number of Internet Users (2023)

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.

Contents

• Top International Internet Stats
• Which Country Has the Most Internet Users?
• Internet Adoption Statistics by Nation
• Internet Adoption Statistics by Region
• Global Internet Users Over Time
• Unconnected Populations
• International Internet Use by Device

Top International Internet Stats

• China has over 1 billion internet users
• More than 90% of Americans use the internet
• Between 59.9% and 68.3% of the global population are online
• 24% of internet users live in East Asia
• Northern Europe has the highest internet penetration rate (97.4%)
• South Africans average a global-high 9 hours 38 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 1.05 billion. Nearly 3 in 4 people (74.36%) in China use the internet.

India currently ranks second with just under half of its population (49.15%) using the internet - that accounts for 692 million people.

The US rounds off the top three with 311.3 million of its 331.9 million population using the internet (93.79%).

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

Source: Data Reportal

Internet Adoption Statistics By Nation

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

• Ireland
• Norway
• Saudi Arabia
• UAE

Here’s the top 10 nations by internet adoption rate:

Rank	Nation	Region	Internet Adoption
=1	Ireland	Europe	99%
=1	Norway	Europe	99%
=1	Saudi Arabia	Asia	99%
=1	UAE	Asia	99%
5	Switzerland	Europe	98.4%
6	Denmark	Europe	98.1%
7	UK	Europe	97.8%
8	South Korea	Asia	97.6%
9	Sweden	Europe	97.2%
10	Singapore	Asia	96.9%
11	Malaysia	Asia	96.8%
12	Australia	Oceania	96.2%
13	New Zealand	Oceania	95.9%
14	Netherlands	Europe	95.5%
15	Spain	Europe	94.9%
16	Belgium	Europe	94.5%
17	Austria	Europe	94.2%
18	Canada	North America	93.8%
=19	Hong Kong	Asia	93.1%
=19	Germany	Europe	93.1%
-	World	-	64.4%

Source: Data Reportal

Internet Adoption Statistics By Region

Around 1 in 4 (24%) internet users live in East Asia. This heavily-populated region has an internet penetration rate of 74.3% - almost 10% higher than the global penetration rate (64.4%).

In fact, Asia is home to the majority of internet users (57.9%). 

Northern Europe has the world’s highest internet penetration rate (97.4%). 

While East Africa has the lowest internet penetration rate (23.1%).

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

Region	Share of Global Internet Users	Internet Penetration Rate
East Asia	24%	74.3%
South Asia	18.5%	47.4%
South-East Asia	10%	75.6%
South America	6.8%	80.6%
North America	6.7%	92%
Eastern Europe	4.9%	86.9%
West Asia	4.3%	75.3%
West Africa	4%	48%
Western Europe	3.5%	93.5%
North Africa	3.3%	65.9%
Southern Europe	2.6%	88.4%
Central America	2.6%	74.9%
East Africa	2.1%	23.1%
Northern Europe	2%	97.4%
Central Africa	1.1%	27.9%
Central Asia	1.1%	72.5%
South Africa	0.9%	70.6%
Oceania	0.7%	79.4%
Caribbean	0.6%	68.4%
World	100%	64.4%

Source: 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 4.8 billion and 5.47 billion. That means 59.9% to 68.3% of the global population are online.

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

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

Here’s how the global internet user base has grown over the past 11 years:

Source: Data Reportal

Unconnected Populations

The latest data reveals that there are approximately 2.85 billion 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 1.0613 billion - more than double the next largest unconnected regional population (East Asia’s 426.6 million).

In terms of nations, the largest unconnected population resides in India. In total, over 730 million Indians do not use the internet - that accounts for 51.3% of the population.

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.

Source: Data Reportal

International Internet Use by Device

With an average time of 9 hours 38 minutes of daily internet use, South Africans spend the most time online per day.

Not far behind, Brazil, the Philippines, Argentina, and Colombia each average over 9 hours of internet use per day.

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

Mobile

According to the latest data, 56.9% of internet access comes from mobile devices. While 43.1% of internet use comes from computers.

Filipinos spend an average of 5 hours 31 minutes using mobiles to access the internet each day - that’s 1 hour 3 minutes more than the global average.

According to recent data, all (100%) adults aged 18 to 64 access the internet via a smartphone in Morocco.

And in total, 4 of the top 10 nations for populations who access the internet via smartphone are situated in Africa.

The global average for accessing the internet via a smartphone sits at 92.3%.

Computer

No country averages more time spent accessing the internet via a computer than South Africa (4 hours 25 minutes). That figure equates to 1 hour 34 minutes more than the global average of 2 hours 51 minutes.

The vast majority (84.9%) 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.

Source: Data Reportal

Conclusion

Given 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.