Internet Population Passes One Billion; Top 15 Countries

The number of people on the Internet surpassed one billion in December, according to comScore. The actual number is probably higher than that (Internet World Stats counted nearly 1.5 billion Web surfers worldwide as of June 30, 2008). In any case, only between 15 and 22 percent of the world's population is on the Internet. We have a long way to go.

Using the comScore numbers, here is the breakdown by country and region

(in unique visitors as of December, 2008; some of the numbers are rounded):

Top 15 countries, by Internet population:

1.     China: 179.7 million
   
2.     United States: 163.3 million
   
3.     Japan: 60.0 million
   
4.     Germany: 37.0 million
   
5.     United Kingdom: 36.7 million
   
6.     France: 34.0 million
   
7.     India: 32.1 million
   
8.     Russia: 29.0 million
   
9.     Brazil: 27.7 million
   
10. South Korea: 27.3 million
    
11. Canada: 21.8 million
    
12. Italy: 20.8 million
    
13. Spain: 17.9 million
    
14. Mexico: 12.5 million
    
15. Netherlands: 11.8 million
    

Worldwide Internet Audience

•     Asia Pacific: 416 million (41.3%)
  
•     Europe: 283 million (28.0%)
  
•     North America: 185 million (18.4%)
  
•     Latin America: 75 million (7.4%)
  
•     Middle East & Africa: 49 million (4.8%)
  

January 23, 2009