How Many Use The Internet in 2025 (Statistics)

5.52 billion people around the world use the internet, making up 67.5% of the global population.

Among all countries, India has the largest number of internet users, with over 1.24 billion people connected online. This rapid growth in internet adoption is driven by several factors, including the increasing affordability of smartphones and mobile data, as well as the rising popularity of online services like e-commerce, streaming platforms, and social media.

In this article, we’ll take a closer look at internet usage worldwide, breaking it down by country, user demographics, and other key insights.

Top Internet User Statistics 2025

  • 5.52 billion people around the world use the internet.
  • Approximately 67.5% of the global population has internet access.
  • India has the largest number of internet users, with 1.24 billion, followed by China with 1.13 billion.
  • In the United States, internet users are projected to reach 327.18 million by 2025.
  • On average, people spend 6 hours and 36 minutes online each day.

How Many People Use The Internet In The World?

Approximately 5.52 billion people use the internet worldwide.

In just the last three months, the global internet user base has grown by 70 million, up from 5.45 billion in July 2024.

Over the past six years, internet adoption has surged significantly. Back in July 2018, there were 3.85 billion users—meaning 1.67 billion more people have come online since then, reflecting the internet’s continuous global expansion.

Number Of Internet Users Over The Years

Here is a table displaying the number of internet users by year:

YearNumber of Internet Users
October 20245.52 billion
July 20245.45 billion
October 20235.37 billion
July 20235.28 billion
July 20225.14 billion
July 20214.91 billion
July 20204.63 billion
July 20194.18 billion
July 20183.85 billion

Source: Date Reportal, Statista.

What Percent Of The World Uses The Internet?

As per the latest data, 67.1% of the global population uses the Internet.

This marks a significant rise in global connectivity, especially considering that back in 2017, only 50% of people had access to the internet. The digital world has grown rapidly, bringing billions more into the online space over the years.

The following table displays the share of the world population using the internet over the year:

YearPercentage of the World Population Using The Internet
July 202467.1%
Apr 202467.1%
Jan 202466.2%
Oct 202365.7%
Jul 202364.5%
202262.5%
202159.5%
202059%
201957%
201853%
201750%
201646%

Source: Statista

How Many People Use The Internet In The United States?

As of the latest estimates, 327.18 million people in the United States use the Internet, covering 94.44% of the population.

Internet usage has been steadily increasing, with 324.16 million users in 2024 and 320.93 million in 2023.

Looking ahead, this number is expected to rise further, reaching approximately 337.67 million users by the end of 2029

Number Of Internet Users In The United States

Here is a table showing the number of internet users in the United States by Year:

YearNumber of Internet Users In The US
2029*337.67 million
2028*335.23 million
2027*332.68 million
2026*330.01 million
2025*327.18 million
2024324.16 million
2023320.93 million
2022317.52 million
2021314.39 million
2020311.62 million

Source: Statista *Projected numbers

Number Of Internet Users By Country

India has the highest number of Internet users worldwide, with 1.24 billion people using the Internet.

According to the latest data recorded in 2023, China follows India with 1.13 billion internet users. 

Meanwhile, the United States has the third highest number of Internet users worldwide.

The following table displays the countries with the highest number of internet users by country:

CountryNumber Of Internet Users
India 1,240 million
China1,134 million
United States319 million
Indonesia272 million
Brazil177 million
Nigeria135 million
Russia127 million
Japan102 million
Mexico96 million
Bangladesh88 million
Egypt85 million

Source: Statista

Global Internet Penetration

The global internet penetration rate is 67.1% as of July 2024.

As per the latest data, the internet penetration rate was highest in North Europe, with 97.5% of the population using the internet. 

On the other hand, Eastern Africa had the lowest internet penetration rate worldwide. Just 26.8% of the population in the region used Internet. 

Here are further details about the global internet penetration rate by region:

  • Northern Europe: 97.5%
  • Northern America: 96.9%
  • Western Europe: 94.5%
  • Southern Europe: 90.2%
  • Eastern Europe: 88.4%
  • Southern America: 82.6%
  • Central America: 78.4%
  • Eastern Asia: 77.7%
  • Oceania: 77.4%
  • Central Asia: 76.5%
  • Southern Africa: 75.9%
  • Western Asia: 75.3%
  • South-Eastern Asia: 74%
  • Caribbean: 70.3%
  • Northern Africa: 70.1%
  • Southern Asia: 53.6%
  • Western Africa: 42.3%
  • Middle Africa: 32.2%
  • Eastern Africa: 26.8%

Internet Usage Statistics 

The typical internet user spends around 6 hours and 36 minutes online each day.

That is an increase of 5 minutes spent online compared to 6 hours and 31 minutes spent online by internet users in the past quarter. 

The time spent on the internet worldwide peaked during the COVID period. However, it has decreased in the past quarters. 

The following table displays the verge time spent online by internet users worldwide:

QuarterAverage Time Spent Using The Internet
Q2 20246 hours 36 minutes
Q1 20246 hours 31 minutes
Q4 20236 hours 35 minutes
Q3 20236 hours 40 minutes
Q2 20236 hours 41 minutes
Q1 20236 hours 40 minutes
Q4 20226 hours 35 minutes
Q3 20226 hours 36 minutes
Q2 20226 hours 37 minutes
Q1 20226 hours 49 minutes

Source: Data Reporal

95.9% of internet users worldwide access the internet through mobile phones. 

In comparison, 62.2% of internet users worldwide used laptops or desktops to access the internet. 

Meanwhile, just 27.6% of the users access the internet through their tablets.

The following table displays the share of internet users worldwide accessing the internet by device:

DeviceShare of Internet Users
Mobile phone (any)95.9%
Smartphone93.7%
Laptop or desktop (any)62.2%
Personal laptop or desktop54%
Connected television31.6%
Work laptop or desktop27.7%
Tablet device27.6%
Smart home device18.1%
Games console11.5%
Feature phone4.5%
Virtual reality device4.4%

Source: Statista, Data Reportal

Internet User Gender Demographics

64.4% of the female population worldwide use the internet. 

Meanwhile, 69.8% of the male population worldwide uses the internet.

That’s a 5% YoY increase in the percentage of the female population using the internet and a 4.3% YoY increase in the percentage of the male population using the internet. 

Source: Data Reportal

Did You Know? More than 73% of Gen Alpha users use the internet. To learn more about this generation, refer to our article on Gen Alpha Statistics.

96% of women and 94% of men in the United States use the internet. 

According to the latest data, the share of the male population worldwide using the internet has remained the same since 2021, while the share of the female population using the internet has jumped from 93% to 96%.

Here is a table showing the distribution of internet users in the U.S. by gender:

YearMaleFemale
202394%96%
202194%93%
201990%91%
201889%88%
201689%86%

Source: Pew Research

Internet User Age Demographics

98% of adults aged 30 to 49 years access the internet in the United States.

The majority of adults in this age group have access to the internet.

Conversely, just 88% of people over 65 years old access the internet in the United States.

The following table displays the share of adults in different age groups accessing the Internet in the United States. 

Age GroupShare of Internet Users
18-29 years97%
30-49 years98%
50-64 years96%
Over 65 years88%

Source: Pew Research

Mobile Internet Usage

96.2% of internet users use a mobile phone to access the internet.

That’s an increase of 0.3 percentage points compared to the number of mobile internet users recorded in Q1 2024 but a decline of 0.1 percentage points compared to 96.3% of the users recorded at the end of 2023.

Here are further details about the percentage of internet users using mobile phones to access the internet:

  • Q2 2024: 96.2%
  • Q1 2024: 95.9%
  • Q4 2023: 96.3%
  • Q3 2023: 96.5%
  • Q2 2023: 95.8%
  • Q1 2023: 95.3%

Source: Data Reportal

308.67 million people in the United States are estimated to use mobile phones to access the internet.

That’s a YoY increase of 4.79% compared to 294.55 million mobile internet users recorded in the United States in 2023. 

Further, the number of mobile internet users in the United States is estimated to reach 324.25 million by 2029. 

The following table displays the number of mobile internet users in the United States by year.

YearNumber of Mobile Internet Users
2029*324.25 million
2028*321.85 million
2027*319.35 million
2026*316.74 million
2025*314.01 million
2024*308.67 million
2023294.55 million
2022279.85 million
2021264.75 million
2020255.95 million

Source: Statista  *Projected numbers

An average person spends 3 hours and 43 minutes per day using the internet on their mobile phone. 

This marks a 6-minute decrease from the 3 hours and 49 minutes recorded in Q4 2023 and a 4-minute drop compared to the 3 hours and 47 minutes of mobile internet usage in Q1 2023.

Source: Data Reportal.

54.67% of web traffic originates from mobile devices. 

Since early 2017, traffic from mobiles and smartphones has remained steady around the 50% mark, eventually exceeding it in 2020.

Source: Statista

Search Engine Statistics

Each month, 81.8% of internet users turn to search engines.

The share of internet users using search engines has been stable between 80% and 83% since Q1 2022. 

Source: Data Reportal

Google dominates the global search engine market with a 90.48% share, maintaining the top spot.

Bing follows in second place with 3.93%, while Yandex holds 1.95%. Baidu and DuckDuckGo account for just 0.79% and 0.64% of the global search engine market, respectively.

This stability of Google highlights the enduring role of search engines as the go-to resource for information among internet users.

Source: Stats Counter

Google holds 94.69% of the global mobile search engine market, solidifying its dominance.

Yandex ranks second, making it the world’s second-most-used mobile search engine.

 Baidu accounts for 0.88%, while Bing captures 0.75% of the mobile market. Meanwhile, Yahoo and DuckDuckGo hold smaller shares at 0.6% and 0.54%, respectively.

Source: Stats Counter.

Additional Search Engine Statistics

  • 8.5 billion searches take place on Google every single day. That converts to 99,000 searches per second. 
  • More than 1 billion voice searches take place every month.
  • Google Lens is used for 8 billion visual searches per month.

Social Media Usage Statistics

95% of the internet users worldwide use social media 

5.22 billion people worldwide use social media, accounting for 63.7% of the total worldwide population.

Besides, users typically spend an average of 2 hours and 20 minutes each day on social media platforms.

Number Of Social Media Users

Here is a table displaying the number of social media users recorded over the years: 

YearNumber of Social Media Users
20245.22 billion
20234.90 billion
20224.59 billion
20214.26 billion
20203.9 billion
20193.51 billion
20183.1 billion
20172.73 billion

Source: Data reportal, Statista

Facebook was the first social media platform to surpass more than one billion account registrations. Today, it holds the position as the #1 social media platform in terms of users, too, with 3.07 billion users. 

Here is a table representing the active users on different social media platforms:

Social Media PlatformNumber of Users
Facebook3.07 billion
Youtube2.50 billion
Whatsapp2 billion
Instagram2 billion
TikTok1.60 billion
WeChat1.36 billion
Facebook Messenger977 million
Telegram900 million
Snapchat800 million

Source: Data Reportal

The United States has approximately 339 million social media users. 

This figure represents 70.1% of the total internet users in the country.

Source: Data Reportal

Conclusion: 5.52 Billion People Worldwide Use The Internet

That’s 67.5% of the population worldwide. 

Besides, 327.18 million people in the United States are estimated to use the Internet,  accounting for 94.44% of the country’s population.

Mobile devices account for the highest internet usage worldwide, whereas desktops account for the third highest share.

The global share of internet users has surged significantly in recent years, driven by the widespread availability of the internet, increased smartphone adoption, and global digitalization.

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