What percent of internet traffic is bots?

By: Robin Geuens

Last updated: October 22, 2024

Fact checked

Cite this research SOAX. (2024). *What percent of internet traffic is bots?* https://soax.com/research/what-percent-of-internet-traffic-is-bots

Research highlights: In 2023, bots made up 49.60% of internet activity, almost catching up to human traffic, which was at 50.40%. Out of all internet traffic, bad bots accounted for 32%, while good bots were 17.60%. The U.S. faced the most bot attacks worldwide, with 47% of the total.

 

What percent of internet traffic is bots?

  • In 2023, bot traffic hit 49.60%, almost catching up to human traffic, which dropped to 50.40%

  • The highest percentage of human traffic in the last decade was in 2019, when it reached 62.80%

  • Human traffic has been going down steadily since 2019, dropping from 62.80% to 50.40% by 2023

  • The biggest drop in human traffic over the past decade happened in 2014, when it fell by 28.25%, as bot traffic surged to 59.10%

  • Bot traffic has been steadily rising from 37.20% in 2019 to 49.60% in 2023, an overall increase of 12.4 percentage points over four years.

  • Between 2020 and 2021, bot traffic saw a noticeable increase, going from 40.80% to 42.30%, while human traffic dropped by 2.53% during the same time

  • 2016 saw the biggest growth in human traffic during the decade, with a 12.68% rise, bringing it to 61.30%, as bot traffic decreased

  • Bot traffic went over 40% in 2017, reaching 42.20%, while human traffic fell by 5.71% that year

Year Bots Human Change 
2023 49.60% 50.40% ↓ -4.18%
2022 47.50% 52.60% ↓ -8.84%
2021 42.30% 57.70% ↓ -2.53%
2020 40.80% 59.20% ↓ -5.73%
2019 37.20% 62.80% ↑ 1.13%
2018 37.90% 62.10% ↑ 7.44%
2017 42.20% 57.80% ↓ -5.71%
2016 38.70% 61.30% ↑ 12.68%
2015 45.60% 54.40% ↑ 33.01%
2014 59.10% 40.90% ↓ -28.25%
2013 43.00% 57% –

 

What percent of bots are bad*?

*Bad bots are defined as bots with malicious intent such as scraping private data, scalping, fraud, DDoS, credential stuffing, etc. Good bots are defined as bots that serve valuable functions such as search engine indexing or performance monitoring.

 

  • In 2023, most of the bot traffic came from bad bots, making up 32% of all internet traffic. Good bots were 17.60%, and human traffic was 50.40%

  • Good bot traffic dropped quite a bit from 36.30% in 2014 to 17.60% in 2023, a decrease of 18.7 percentage points

  • Bad bot traffic has been going up every year since 2019, rising from 24.10% to 32% by 2023

  • In 2021 and 2022, there was a big rise in bad bot traffic, with bad bots going up from 25.60% in 2020 to 30.20% in 2022

  • The highest amount of bad bot traffic in the past decade was in 2023 at 32%, while the lowest was in 2015 at 18.60%, showing a 13.4 percentage point difference

  • Good bot traffic was at its highest in 2014, at 36.30%, which was also when human traffic was at its lowest, just 40.90%

  • From 2014 to 2023, good bot traffic steadily went down, dropping by 18.7 percentage points from 36.30% to 17.60%

  • Human traffic has been decreasing steadily since 2019, falling from 62.80% to 50.40% in 2023

 

Year Bad bot Good bot Human
2023 32% 17.60% 50.40%
2022 30.20% 17.30% 52.60%
2021 27.70% 14.60% 57.70%
2020 25.60% 15.20% 59.20%
2019 24.10% 13.10% 62.80%
2018 20.40% 17.50% 62.10%
2017 21.80% 20.40% 57.80%
2016 19.90% 18.80% 61.30%
2015 18.60% 27% 54.40%
2014 22.80% 36.30% 40.90%
2013 23.60% 19.40% 57%

What countries experience the most bot attacks?

  • The United States gets hit with almost half of all global bot attacks, making up 47% of the total

  • The Netherlands comes in second, with 9% of global bot attacks

  • Australia is third, dealing with 8.40% of the total bot attacks, making it the most affected country in the Asia-Pacific area

  • The United Kingdom faces 5.10% of all bot attacks

  • France and Singapore have similar levels of bot attacks, with 3.10% and 3.00%, respectively

  • Indonesia and Brazil each account for 2.20% of bot attacks globally

  • Canada experiences 2.10% of the global bot attacks

  • India, even with its large number of internet users, sees only 1.70% of the total bot attacks

  • Hong Kong and Colombia each account for 1.60% of global bot attacks, sharing the same level of exposure on the lower end of the list

  • Countries not in the top 12 make up 13% of global bot attacks, showing that bot activity is spread out across other regions too

 

Country Percentage
United States 47%
Netherlands 9%
Australia 8.40%
United Kingdom 5.10%
France 3.10%
Singapore 3.00%
Indonesia 2.20%
Brazil 2.20%
Canada 2.10%
India 1.70%
Hong Kong 1.60%
Columbia 1.60%
Other 13%

Sources