Internet Usage Statistics By Regional, Technology And Trends (2025)
Updated · Sep 23, 2025
WHAT WE HAVE ON THIS PAGE
Introduction
Internet Usage Statistics: It’s hard to imagine life without being connected to the internet, isn’t it? The internet has become a fundamental part of our lives these days, from how we work and learn to how we shop and socialize. But how big is this world, really? What’s the point behind all the clicks, swipes, and searches?
That’s where these internet usage statistics help us; these are the pulse of our global civilization. We are going to explore who’s online, what they’re doing, and where the next big digital thing is happening.
Understanding these statistics is crucial for anyone who wants to grasp the modern world, from marketers and business owners to content creators and even everyday people. Let’s dive deep into the data and see what it tells us about the condition of the internet in 2025. Let’s get into it.
Editor’s Choice
- The total number of internet users has officially surpassed the 5 billion mark, now sitting at 5.56 billion people, which is approximately 67.9% of the global population.
- The non-digital population is shrinking but remains significant, with 63 billion people still without internet access, the majority of whom live in developing countries and rural areas.
- China and India are the undisputed leaders in internet user volume, with India projected to cross the 900 million user mark by the end of 2025.
- The global average person spends an impressive 6 hours and 38 minutes daily on internet-connected devices, equating to more than 40% of our waking hours.
- Mobile’s dominance is undeniable, as it accounts for a commanding 45% of all global web traffic, with only 35.71% coming from desktop devices.
- The number of social media users has grown to 41 billion, representing 65.7% of the world’s population, with 241 million new users joining platforms in the past year alone.
- Facebook remains the most used social platform, with 07 billion monthly active users, while YouTube and Instagram both have over 2 billion users.
- The global e-commerce market is forecast to reach US$7.4 trillion in 2025, with mobile commerce accounting for 71% of all online retail sales.
- Google maintains its near-monopoly on search, with an overwhelming 47% market share, making it the primary gateway to online information for billions of people.
- The global digital ad spending is projected to reach a historic US$1 trillion in 2025 for the first time, with digital channels making up 2% of that total.
Global Internet Expansion
(Reference: sganalytics.com)
- A total of 5.65 billion people are now online, which is a year-on-year increase of over 97 million new users.
- This places the global internet penetration rate at 68.7% of the total population, a number that has been steadily climbing for over two decades.
- Over 2.58 billion people remain offline, with the majority concentrated in rural areas and developing nations.
- China, India, and the United States have the largest number of internet users, collectively accounting for more than 45% of the global online population.
- The number of mobile phone users has reached 5.76 billion, and this figure is a critical indicator as mobile phones are the primary access point for new internet users.
- In Africa, internet penetration is at 43%, but it is one of the fastest-growing regions in terms of user adoption, highlighting its future potential.
- In rural areas globally, only 50% of the population has access to the internet, compared to 81% in urban areas, demonstrating a persistent digital divide.
- The average person spends an impressive 6 hours and 38 minutes daily on the internet, with a significant portion of this time dedicated to social media and video.
- The internet’s daily user base has increased by 2.7 million people every day over the past year.
- There are now more than 1.1 billion fixed broadband subscriptions globally, with a monthly growth rate of around 0.37% in key markets.
- The highest internet penetration rates are found in Northern Europe (98%) and North America (96%).
- Around 70% of the world’s population now owns a mobile phone.
- Globally, there are 1.35 billion fixed wireless broadband subscribers, a number that is growing by over 60% per year.
- In India alone, the number of internet users is projected to reach 900 million by 2025.
- The global tele-density (number of telephone subscriptions per 100 people) is over 115%.
- The number of internet users is projected to reach an astounding 7.9 billion by 2029.
| Total Internet Users | 5.65 Billion |
| Global Penetration Rate | 68.7% |
Unconnected Population | 2.58 Billion |
| Average Daily Online Time | 6 hours 38 minutes |
Mobile-First Use Case – Device and Traffic Analysis
(Reference: explodingtopics.com)
- 9% of all internet users worldwide access the web via a mobile phone at least some of the time.
- Mobile devices now account for a commanding 62.45% of all global web traffic, a figure that has been consistently growing and outpacing desktop traffic since 2017.
- The share of desktop web traffic has fallen to 35.71%, with the remaining traffic coming from tablets and other devices.
- In the US, the average adult spends around 5.5 hours a day on their phone, with a significant portion dedicated to online media and apps.
- The number of global 5G subscriptions is expected to reach 3 billion by 2025, which is fueling a new wave of mobile connectivity.
- Mobile e-commerce is projected to make up 71% of all e-commerce sales in 2025, reaching a value of over $5.2 trillion.
- More than 4 billion mobile apps were downloaded in the first quarter of 2025 alone.
- The global mobile gaming market is forecast to reach a value of $110 billion in 2025, representing more than 50% of the entire gaming market.
- The average monthly mobile data usage per person is expected to exceed 28 GB in developed markets by the end of 2025.
- In developing countries, the cost of mobile data is falling, with the average cost per gigabyte now below $2 in many regions.
- Over 80% of all social media usage occurs on mobile devices.
- In countries like India, the mobile-first trend is even more pronounced, with 79.9% of all web traffic originating from mobile devices.
- Mobile browser traffic now accounts for 32% of all web traffic, while mobile apps are responsible for an impressive 44%.
- The average user has 90 apps installed on their phone, and uses around 30 of them each month.
- Around 70% of all online video consumption takes place on a mobile device.
| Mobile | 62.45% |
| Desktop | 35.71% |
| Tablet | 1.84% |
| Mobile E-commerce Share | 71% |
User Engagement and Platform Data
(Source: datareportal.com)
- There are now 5.41 billion active social media users globally, which is about 65.7% of the world’s total population.
- This represents a growth of 241 million new users in the past year alone.
- The average user engages with 6.84 different social media platforms per month, showing that people don’t stick to just one app.
- Facebook is still the largest social media platform, with over 3.07 billion monthly active users.
- YouTube and Instagram have both surpassed the 2 billion user mark, cementing their positions as dominant forces in video and visual content.
- The fastest-growing social platform is TikTok, which now boasts nearly 1.92 billion monthly active users.
- Threads saw an explosive user growth of 67% in the past six months alone.
- The global social commerce market is projected to reach $3.6 trillion by 2025, driven by platforms like Instagram and TikTok.
- The total ad spending on social media platforms is projected to reach $340 billion in 2025.
- India has the most social media users, with a projected 410 million people on these platforms.
- Around 70% of all online video consumption takes place on a mobile device.
- In developing countries, the cost of mobile data is falling, with the average cost per gigabyte now below $2 in many regions.
- Around 4 billion mobile apps were downloaded in the first quarter of 2025 alone.
| 3.07 Billion | |
| YouTube | 2.53 Billion (Ad Reach) |
| 2 Billion | |
| TikTok | 1.92 Billion |
E-commerce, Content, and Search
(Reference: meetanshi.com)
- The global e-commerce market is projected to be worth an astounding $7.4 trillion in 2025, with the number of online shoppers reaching a record 2.77 billion people.
- E-commerce is set to account for 21% of all retail sales this year, up from just 15% in 2020.
- The Asia-Pacific region is the largest e-commerce market, with sales projected to reach over $4.2 trillion in 2025.
- Google holds an overwhelming 91.47% of the global search engine market share, making it the primary gateway for billions of information-seekers.
- The global online video streaming market is forecast to reach $160 billion in 2025.
- Netflix is still the market leader in streaming, with its revenue projected to exceed $37 billion in 2025.
- The global podcasting market is projected to reach $34 billion in 2025, with over 500 million active listeners worldwide.
- Voice search is on the rise, with over 50% of all households now using voice-activated assistants.
| Global E-commerce Market (2025) | $7.4 Trillion |
| Global Online Shoppers (2025) | 2.77 Billion |
| Google’s Search Share | 91.47% |
| Online Video Market (2025) | $160 Billion |
Demographics and Regional Use Case
(Reference: enterpriseappstoday.com)
- Internet adoption is highest among younger adults, with the 15 to 24-year-old age group having a penetration rate of 77%, a full 12 percentage points higher than the global average.
- The global internet gender gap stands at 8%, with 62% of men using the internet compared to 57% of women.
- In the United States, the average adult spends around 5.5 hours a day on their phone, with a significant portion of that time dedicated to social media and online streaming.
- In India, internet penetration is at 65% of the total population, with the number of users expected to cross the 1 billion milestone by 2027.
- The urban-rural digital divide in India is significant, with 68% of urban residents using the internet compared to only 39% of rural residents.
- The highest rates of social media usage are among 18 to 34-year-olds.
- In Southern Asia, a significant gender gap exists, with the male-to-female ratio on social media being 66% to 34%.
| Internet Use Among 15 to 24-Year-Olds | 77% |
| Male vs. Female Internet Users | 62% vs. 57% |
| India Urban vs. Rural Penetration | 68% vs. 39% |
| Daily Phone Time (US Adults) | 5.5 hours |
Trends and the Future Expectations
(Reference: researchgate.net)
- Global digital advertising is forecast to grow by 7.9% in 2025 to reach a historic $678.7 billion for the first time.
- Programmatic advertising is projected to grow by 8.4%, while ad spending on retail media is expected to increase by an impressive 13.9%.
- The global AI market was valued at $184 billion in 2024 and is expected to reach $826 billion by 2030.
- Over 42% of enterprise-scale companies report using AI in their business, and an additional 40% are exploring it.
- The Internet of Things (IoT) continues to expand, with projections that there will be nearly 17 billion connected devices by the end of 2025.
- The global cybersecurity market is forecast to reach $213 billion in 2025, driven by the rising urgency around application security and AI-related threats.
- Global cryptocurrency adoption saw an acceleration in the past year, with Asia-Pacific emerging as the fastest-growing region, with a 69% year-over-year increase in value received.
- In the US, AI is most commonly used by B2B marketers for content-related tasks (52%), coding (39%), and presentations (35%).
| Global Digital Ad Spend (2025) | $678.7 Billion |
| AI Market Value (2024) | $184 Billion |
| Connected IoT Devices (2025) | 17 Billion |
| Cybersecurity Market (2025) | $213 Billion |
Conclusion
Overall, when we look at these internet usage statistics, we can see billions of people getting connected, and the world is becoming more integrated and interdependent than ever before. From the dominance of mobile devices to the scale of social media and the rapid growth of e-commerce, this data shows a dynamic and changing landscape.
While we’ve made good progress in bridging the digital use case, the stats also remind us that a significant portion of the world remains offline. The challenge now is to continue the work of expanding access and ensuring that the benefits of a connected world are shared by everyone. I hope you like this article. Thanks for staying up till the end.
FAQ.
As of mid-2025, there are approximately 5.56 billion internet users worldwide. This represents a global penetration rate of 67.9% of the world’s total population. The number of users continues to grow, with around 97 million new individuals coming online over the past year.
The average person spends a significant amount of their day online, with the global average sitting at 6 hours and 38 minutes daily. This is the equivalent of more than 40% of our waking hours and demonstrates the deep integration of the internet into our daily lives.
Mobile devices are the dominant source of web traffic. As of mid-2025, mobile phones account for a commanding 62.45% of all global web traffic. This figure has been consistently increasing and has surpassed desktop traffic since 2017.
There are 5.41 billion active social media users worldwide, which is roughly 65.7% of the global population. The average social media user engages with 6.84 different platforms each month, showcasing a high degree of platform diversity.
While the most popular platforms can vary by region, Facebook remains the leader with 3.07 billion monthly active users. YouTube and Instagram also have massive user bases, both with over 2 billion users.
The most popular online activities are driven by entertainment and communication. The top activities globally include social media, watching online videos, listening to music, and online gaming. E-commerce is also a major activity, with 2.77 billion people shopping online.
By sheer user volume, the top countries are China, with over 1 billion internet users, followed by India and the United States. These three countries alone account for a significant portion of the global internet population.
Despite the rapid growth of internet access, 2.63 billion people remain “unconnected” to the internet. The majority of this offline population resides in Southern and Eastern Asia, and in Africa, where infrastructure and affordability remain key challenges.
The internet’s growth has been exponential. In 1995, only about 1% of the world’s population was online. By 2010, this number had grown to 29.5%, and today it stands at nearly 68%. The introduction of smartphones in the late 2000s and early 2010s was a key driver of this explosive growth.
The global e-commerce market is a massive economic force, projected to be worth an astounding $7.4 trillion in 2025. The market is being fueled by mobile shopping, which accounts for 71% of all online retail sales.
Barry is a technology enthusiast with a passion for in-depth research on various technological topics. He meticulously gathers comprehensive statistics and facts to assist users. Barry's primary interest lies in understanding the intricacies of software and creating content that highlights its value. When not evaluating applications or programs, Barry enjoys experimenting with new healthy recipes, practicing yoga, meditating, or taking nature walks with his child.
