➤ Internet: Key Statistics and Figures (2024)

List of Internet Statistics and Key Figures

1. Internet Users: A Booming Ecosystem

In 2024, we count 5.25 billion Internet users in the world, or 66% of the population.
The number of users is growing by 8.2% per year on average, much faster than the world population (+1.05%).
Asia is the most connected continent with 2.8 billion Internet users, far ahead of Europe (705 million).
Top 3 of the most connected countries: Denmark, Iceland and United Arab Emirates (98-99% of the online population).

Around the world, more and more people are connecting to the web.

With 1.1 billion users, the China has the largest number of Internet users, followed by India (658 million) and the United States (307 million). In some countries such as Denmark or Iceland, almost the entire population is now online. The web is emerging as a global mass media.

2. More and more mobile web uses

Evolution of the number of mobile Internet users in the world from 2020 to 2029 in billions of users - Source: Statista

4.32 billion people access the Internet from a mobile device, or 90% of Internet users.
On average, mobile users spend 3h13 per day on the Internet from their smartphone.
51.53% of global web traffic comes from mobiles, compared to 47.04% for PCs and 2.63% for tablets.
80% of the time spent on social networks is on mobile.

Mobile has revolutionized the way we consume the Internet.

Thanks to smartphones, Internet users can connect everywhere, all the time.

Result: they now pass more time on the web from their mobile than from their computer. This trend is particularly marked on social networks, where 4 minutes out of 5 are spent on a phone.

The mobile has become the first screen.

3. Social Networks, New Kings of the Web

Social networks among the 15 most visited sites in the world in 2024 - Source: SimilarWeb

4.2 billion people are actively using social networks, that is more than half of humanity.
Facebook remains the undisputed leader with 2.7 billion users, ahead of YouTube (2.3 billion) and WhatsApp (2 billion).
Instagram is the preferred network for young people with 1 billion users, the majority of whom are under 34.
TikTok is growing the fastest : 800 million users including 500 million active every month.

Communicate, get information, have fun... Social networks have become the favorite playground for Internet users.

Number of internet and social media users worldwide in January 2024 - Source: Statista

Each platform was able to find its audience, from teens addicted to TikTok to professionals on LinkedIn to millennial fans of Instagram.

But all of them have a common point: a massive commitment and time spent on the part of users.

4. E-Commerce, the Spearhead of the Digital Economy

The world's largest e-commerce markets Annual online sales (in billions of USD)

In 2024, 2.05 billion people buy online, i.e. 26% of the world's population.
E-commerce turnover is expected to reach $3,914 billion in 2024 (+16.5% vs 2023).
Amazon dominates the market with $280.5 billion in sales in 2023.
82% of online shoppers on the American continent pay by credit card.

Shopping online has become a reflex for a growing part of the world's population.

Driven by giants like Amazon or Alibaba, e-commerce continues to grow at double digits from year to year.

While some obstacles persist, such as shipping costs, considered too high by 63% of American buyers, the underlying trend is clear: Commerce is digitizing at breakneck speed.

5. Advertising Is Getting Into The Digital Age

Percentage share of spending on digital and traditional advertising from 2017 to 2027

Digital advertising spending is expected to reach $530 billion in 2024, which is more than half of global advertising spending.
Google and Facebook alone capture 56% digital advertising investments.
55% of digital advertising budgets are spent on mobile ads.
47% of Internet users use an ad blocker.

For a long time, advertising was the preserve of traditional media such as television or the press. But with the migration of audiences to digital, advertisers are following suit.

In 2024, digital advertising spending will exceed that of “traditional” media for the first time. A historic shift driven by platforms like Google and Facebook, but also by theThe rise of mobile advertising.

6. IoT, the New Wild West of Data

Global growth in connected IoT devices from 2019 to 2030 (in billions) - Source: Statista

In 2030, we will count 125 billion connected devices in the world, compared to 31 million currently.
Global IoT spending is expected to reach $1.1 trillion in 2023.
Health and industry will be the largest IoT markets with 30.3% and 40.2% of the shares respectively.
In the long run, we will count on average 26 connected objects for every human on Earth.

Watches, fridges, cars... More and more everyday objects are connecting to form the Internet of Things (IoT).

A booming market that is expected to weigh more than 1.3 trillion dollars in 2025, driven by the health sector and industry. In the future, these billions of sensors should generate an astronomical mass of data, opening the field to new and ever more personalized services.

7. Evolution of the Number of Websites: A Sawtooth Curve

Total and active number of websites per year worldwide

In June 2023, we counted 1,106,671,903 websites in the world. It is almost 40% less than in February 2018, where the number of sites reached an historic peak of 1,839,596,056.
However, the number of active sites has continued to grow, reaching a new record of 202,900,724 in January 2023 (+2290% compared to the year 2000).
In the 3rd quarter of 2023, it is estimated that 3,992,222 new sites were created every day, or 2772 per minute and 46 per second!
But not all sites survive: Between May and June 2023, around 90,417 sites were removed per day.r.

Despite fluctuations, the number of websites continues to grow overall.

While the gap between active and inactive sites is growing, the creation of new sites remains dynamic with nearly 4 million sites being created every day. But The competition is tough and many don't make it through the first few months.

An ecosystem in perpetual renewal.

8. Most Popular Domain Extensions

.com remains the queen extension with 160.8 million domain names registered on September 30, 2023.
.cn (China) and.de (Germany) complete the podium with 20.3 and 17.6 million domain names respectively.
ccTLDs (country extensions) top 7 places in the Top 10: .uk (GB), .nl (Netherlands)...
“New gTLDs” like.xyz or.online are popular for creating new sites in 2023.

Far ahead of the others, the .com is establishing itself as the reference web extension in the world.

But in the segment of geographic extensions (ccTLDs), some countries are doing well, such as China, Germany or the United Kingdom. A sign of the vitality of their national digital ecosystem. Also to watch out for: the breakthrough of new generic extensions on recent sites.

9. What languages dominate the web?

58.8% of websites are in English, far ahead of Russian (5.3%), Spanish (4.3%), French and German (3.7% each).
A logical linguistic dominance: English is the most spoken language in the world (18.5% of the population).
This is followed by Mandarin (14.5%), Hindi (7.7%) and Spanish (7.1%).

The overwhelming hegemony of English on the web is only a reflection of its status as an international language.

As the only lingua franca that can address a global audience, it has naturally established itself since the beginning of the web. But with the rise of Internet users from Emerging countries, the situation could change. Mandarin and Hindi, with a huge pool of speakers, have a card to play.

10. Cyberbullying, a scourge of Internet users

41% of adult Internet users have personally been victims of online harassment.
64% of young adults (18-29) have already been harassed on the Internet. This is the age group most affected.
77% of victims of online harassment have experienced it on Facebook, the leader in social networks.
49% of adults harassed online were because of their political opinions.

Behind the great opportunities of the Internet lies a darker side: cyberbullying.

From insults to physical threats to revenge porn, this scourge spares no category of the population, from teenagers to adults.

Social networks like Facebook or Instagram have become the favorite places for stalkers., taking advantage of the anonymity and virality allowed by these platforms. A major challenge to build a safer and more caring web.

Conclusion

With these statistics, one thing is certain: The Internet has profoundly transformed our world and our daily lives. in the space of a few decades.

From social networks to e-commerce to advertising, digital technology has emerged as the new essential paradigm, challenging traditional players in the process.

But this digital revolution raises also numerous challenges.

How to ensure the security and confidentiality of Internet users' data? How to fight against excesses such as cybercrime, cyberbullying or disinformation? What ethical framework should be defined in the face of advances in AI (artificial intelligence)?

Answering these questions will be essential to shape the internet of tomorrow.

An internet that is more inclusive, safer and at the service of the common good. This is the challenge of the coming years, to ensure that this great invention continues to be an opportunity for all of humanity.