Which country has the highest number of internet users?

Research highlights: China has the highest number of internet users at 1.11 billion, followed by India with 806 million and the United States with 322 million. Northern Europe leads in adoption at 97.7%, while Southern Asia has the largest offline population at 958.8 million.

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Top countries by number of internet users

• China has the highest number of internet users with 1.11 billion internet users, accounting for more than the combined total of India, the United States, and Indonesia

• India ranks second in global internet usage statistics with 806 million users

• Six of the top ten countries for internet usage are in Asia

• The United States is the only non-Asian country in the top three, with 322 million users.

• Indonesia (212 million) and Brazil (183 million) complete the top five, each having less than one-fifth of China’s total internet users

• Russia (133 million), Pakistan (116 million), and Mexico (110 million) are the only other countries above 100 million users outside the top five

• Japan (109 million) and Nigeria (107 million) have almost identical user counts despite very different infrastructure levels and income

• The Philippines (97.5 million) leads Southeast Asia outside of Indonesia and has slightly more users than Egypt (96.3 million)

• Vietnam, Germany, Bangladesh, and Turkey each have between 77 million and 80 million users

• The United Kingdom has 67.8 million users, which is close to its total population, indicating near-universal access

Countries with the highest internet usage statistics

• Six countries lead in internet usage with 99% adoption: Denmark, Netherlands, Norway, Saudi Arabia, Switzerland, and the United Arab Emirates

• Europe dominates the top rankings for internet usage statistics, with 15 of the top 20 most connected countries located in the region

• Countries with large populations and high adoption, like the United States (93.1%) and Japan (88.2%), are among the leaders in internet users by country

• Large offline populations remain in markets with moderate adoption, including India, China, and Indonesia, indicating room for internet growth

• South Korea (97.4%) has over 50 million users and one of the world’s highest adoption rates

• Malaysia (97.7%) leads Southeast Asia, ahead of Singapore (95.8%) and Thailand (91.2%)

• Australia (97.1%) and New Zealand (96.2%) have near-universal adoption in Oceania

• India (55.3%), Nigeria (45.4%), Bangladesh (44.5%), and Pakistan (45.7%) all fall below the global average despite large populations

• China’s 78% adoption rate gives it the largest number of internet users by country but still leaves room for growth

Internet adoption rates by region

• Northern Europe has the highest adoption rate globally at 97.7%, followed by Western Europe (95.1%) and North America (93.3%)

• Africa has the widest range of adoption rates, from 73% in Northern Africa to just 28.5% in Eastern Africa

• Southern Asia has a low adoption rate of 53.8%, but its large population makes it a key driver of global user growth

• Every European subregion has an adoption rate above 90%, showing consistent connectivity across the continent

• Central Asia (80.8%), Southeast Asia (78.2%), and Eastern Asia (78.5%) are all above the global average of 67.9%

• Southern Africa (77%) has a much higher adoption rate than Eastern Africa (28.5%), driven by better infrastructure in countries like South Africa

• Central America’s 79.2% adoption rate is higher than the Caribbean (69.8%) and close to Southern America (83.2%)

• Oceania (77.5%) has strong adoption relative to many developing regions, though it is still below Europe and Northern America

• Western Africa (42.5%), Middle Africa (33.6%), and Eastern Africa (28.5%) are the only regions below 50% adoption

Regions with the lowest internet usage

• Southern Asia has the world’s largest offline population, with 958.8 million people not using the internet, representing over one-third of the global total of 2.63 billion

• Eastern Africa has 362.6 million people offline with a low adoption rate of 28.5%

• Eastern Asia has 356.3 million people offline, showing that even regions with high total users still have large unconnected populations

• Western Africa’s offline population of 265.1 million is much larger than Northern Africa’s 74.1 million

Sources

• Number of internet users by country 2025

• Digital 2025: Global Overview Report