In 2023, the internet had become an integral part of our lives, with 5.44 billion users worldwide, accounting for 67.1 percent of the global population. Out of this total, 5.07 billion people were social media users, representing 62.6 percent of the world’s population.
The internet connects billions of people globally and is essential to modern society’s functioning. Northern Europe led the way in terms of internet usage, with countries like Norway, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates having nearly universal internet access among their populations. On the other hand, North Korea had very low internet usage penetration rates and ranked last worldwide.
Asia had the highest number of online users, with over 2.93 billion individuals accessing the internet. Europe followed closely behind with around 750 million internet users. Countries like China, India, and the United States were at the top in terms of the number of internet users globally.
In terms of demographics, as of 2022, about two-thirds of all internet users worldwide were female compared to male users’ slightly lower percentage share. The gender gap was more significant in regions like Arab States and Africa where there was a ten percent difference between male and female user penetration rates. The age group between 15-24 years old had the highest internet usage across all regions worldwide, with young people in Europe having particularly high penetration rates at nearly universal levels (98%).
Moreover, income levels played a crucial role in determining internet access rates across different countries globally: high-income countries had much higher rates than low-income markets; for example, only about one-quarter (26%) of low-income market populations used the internet compared to almost nine out of every ten (92%) people in high-income markets.[
