World

How fast has the world come online?

73.6% of the world's people used the internet in 2025, up from 15.6% in 2005, the first year the World Bank gives a world figure. It counts people who used the internet at least once in the previous three months. The world figures are estimates by the International Telecommunication Union.

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Source and date

Data as of
Published

The data

Year People using the internet, % of world population
2005 15.6
2006 17.2
2007 20.2
2008 22.8
2009 25.3
2010 28.4
2011 30.9
2012 33.3
2013 35.3
2014 37.4
2015 39.9
2016 43.6
2017 46.3
2018 49.4
2019 53.9
2020 60.1
2021 63.8
2022 67
2023 69.2
2024 71.2
2025 73.6