In 2025, the internet is more ubiquitous than ever, but who is actually online—and where—reveals a strikingly uneven digital world. This blog post unpacks the latest numbers and shows how population size, development, and geography shape global connectivity.
A More Connected World, But Not For All
In 2025, 74% of the world’s population—about 6 billion people—are online, up from 71% (5.8 billion) in 2024. Year‑on‑year growth has nudged up to 3.3%, indicating steady, though not explosive, expansion of global connectivity.
That still leaves more than a quarter of humanity offline, meaning billions of people cannot access digital services, online education, e‑commerce, or remote work opportunities. Even as the world talks about AI, cloud computing, and the metaverse, universal connectivity remains a distant goal.
How Income Shapes Internet Access
Internet use is tightly linked to a country’s level of development. In high‑income countries, 94% of the population uses the internet—close to the 95% penetration level that many researchers consider “universal” access in practical terms.
By contrast, internet access in low‑income countries is far lower, with only about one in four people online in many such economies. This gap is not just about technology; it reflects broader inequalities in income, infrastructure, education, and affordability.
Regional View: A Connected North, A Struggling South
Connectivity also varies widely by region. In the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), Europe, and the Americas, between 88% and 93% of the population uses the internet, placing these regions at or near saturation levels.
Asia‑Pacific (77%) and the Arab States (70%) sit near the global average, but Africa stands out with just 36% of people online. This means that in many African countries, the offline population still outnumbers those who are connected, limiting participation in the digital economy.
Least developed countries (LDCs) and landlocked developing countries (LLDCs) remain especially constrained, with internet penetration at only 34% and 38%, respectively. Even though their annual growth rates—around 7.4% for LDCs and 5.5% for LLDCs—are higher than in most other groups, the gap is not expected to close soon.
China and India: Giants of the Online World
A striking takeaway from Datareportal’s Digital 2026 Global Overview is how population scale shapes the list of the world’s largest online populations. When countries are ranked by the total number of internet users (not by percentage), two giants dominate the chart.
China ranks first with roughly 1.30 billion internet users, representing more than 90% of its population. India follows with just over 1.03 billion users, even though its internet penetration rate is significantly lower at around 70%.
Together, China and India account for more internet users than the rest of the top 20 combined. This illustrates a crucial point: a country with a moderate connectivity rate but a huge population can still sit at the top of global user rankings.
Top 20 Countries by Internet Users
The table below shows the top 20 countries by number of internet users, based on Datareportal estimates for 2026.
| Rank | Country | Internet users (approx.) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | China 🇨🇳 | 1,296,394,000 |
| 2 | India 🇮🇳 | 1,026,954,000 |
| 3 | United States 🇺🇸 | 323,888,000 |
| 4 | Indonesia 🇮🇩 | 230,448,000 |
| 5 | Brazil 🇧🇷 | 184,997,000 |
| 6 | Russian Federation 🇷🇺 | 135,676,000 |
| 7 | Pakistan 🇵🇰 | 116,839,000 |
| 8 | Mexico 🇲🇽 | 110,345,000 |
| 9 | Nigeria 🇳🇬 | 108,700,000 |
| 10 | Japan 🇯🇵 | 106,933,000 |
| 11 | Egypt 🇪🇬 | 98,211,000 |
| 12 | Philippines 🇵🇭 | 98,025,000 |
| 13 | Vietnam 🇻🇳 | 85,621,000 |
| 14 | Bangladesh 🇧🇩 | 82,806,000 |
| 15 | Germany 🇩🇪 | 78,454,000 |
| 16 | Turkey 🇹🇷 | 77,466,000 |
| 17 | Iran 🇮🇷 | 73,751,000 |
| 18 | United Kingdom 🇬🇧 | 68,090,000 |
| 19 | Thailand 🇹🇭 | 67,826,000 |
| 20 | France 🇫🇷 | 63,449,000 |
Emerging Markets and the Shift to the Global South
Beyond China and India, several emerging markets stand out: Indonesia, Brazil, Pakistan, Mexico, Nigeria, Egypt, the Philippines, Vietnam, Bangladesh, and Turkey all appear in the top 20. Many of these countries are still building out their digital infrastructure, yet they already host tens or hundreds of millions of users.
This reflects a broader shift in the center of gravity of the internet toward the Global South. As more people in Asia, Latin America, and parts of Africa come online, their preferences, languages, and platforms will increasingly shape global digital culture and markets.
Africa’s Underrepresented Online Populations
Despite rapid growth in some markets, Africa remains underrepresented among the world’s largest online populations. Nigeria is the only African country in the top 10 and one of just two African nations in the top 20 list, even though the continent’s total population is large.
This underrepresentation stems from lower internet penetration, gaps in infrastructure, and barriers related to affordability and access across much of the continent. In practice, this means many African innovators, students, and entrepreneurs still face major obstacles in fully participating in the digital economy.
Why These Numbers Matter
These connectivity patterns have implications that go far beyond social media usage or streaming habits. They affect where digital businesses expand, which languages dominate online spaces, and who can benefit from digital public services, online education, and remote work.
As high‑income countries approach saturation, most future growth in internet users will come from emerging markets and lower‑income regions. Closing the remaining gaps—especially in LDCs, LLDCs, and parts of Africa—will be critical for ensuring that the benefits of the digital age are shared more equally worldwide.