In 2024, the number of internet users worldwide had reached 5.44 billion, which made up 67.1 percent of the global population. Out of this total, 5.07 billion people were active social media users, accounting for 62.6 percent of the world’s population. The internet has become a fundamental component of modern society, connecting billions of people across the globe.
In 2023, Northern Europe led in internet usage, with countries like Norway, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates boasting a 99 percent internet penetration rate. On the other hand, North Korea had extremely low internet usage among its population and ranked at the bottom worldwide. Asia had the largest number of online users with over 2.93 billion followed by Europe with approximately 750 million users. Countries like China, India and United States led in terms of sheer number of internet users.
In terms of gender disparity in internet usage stood at 63 percent for women in 2022 which is six percent lower than men globally. However there was a more substantial divide in regions like Arab states and Africa where there was ten percent difference between male and female internet users while Commonwealth Independent States and Europe demonstrated a smaller gender gap. Young people aged between 15-24 had highest internet usage rates across all regions; Europe topped the list at 98 percent penetration while global average for this age group was only