Internet users by country, 1995 to 2024

From a few million in 1995 to billions: the countries with the most people online.

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What the data shows

In 2024, China ranks #1 with 1,296M, ahead of India (942M) and United States (322M).
Back in 1995, United States was #1 with 25M.
The top spot changed hands once: China in 2008.
Biggest climber: China, from #6 in 1998 to #1 in 2024.

About this chart

In 1995 the United States had most of the world's internet users. Cheap smartphones and mobile data changed that: China passed the US in the late 2000s and India followed.

Users are calculated from the share of each country's population that used the internet (ITU estimates published by the World Bank) multiplied by population.

The data

Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators: internet users (% of population, IT.NET.USER.ZS) × population (SP.POP.TOTL), millions. Retrieved November 3, 2026. Years with no survey for a country are filled in smoothly between known points.

Internet users by country, Millions of people online, 1995–2024
Date	🇨🇳 China	🇮🇳 India	🇺🇸 United States	🇮🇩 Indonesia	🇧🇷 Brazil	🇵🇰 Pakistan	🇷🇺 Russia	🇲🇽 Mexico	🇯🇵 Japan	🇳🇬 Nigeria	🇩🇪 Germany	🇬🇧 United Kingdom
1995	0M	0M	25M	0M	0M	0M	0M	0M	2M		2M	1M
1996	0M	0M	44M	0M	1M	0M	0M	0M	5M	0M	2M	2M
1997	0M	1M	59M	0M	1M	0M	1M	1M	12M	0M	6M	4M
1998	2M	1M	83M	1M	3M	0M	1M	1M	17M	0M	8M	8M
1999	9M	3M	100M	1M	4M	0M	2M	2M	27M	0M	17M	12M
2000	22M	6M	122M	2M	5M	1M	3M	5M	38M	0M	25M	16M
2001	34M	7M	140M	4M	8M	2M	4M	7M	49M	0M	26M	20M
2002	59M	17M	169M	5M	16M	4M	6M	12M	59M	0M	40M	34M
2003	80M	19M	179M	5M	24M	8M	12M	13M	62M	1M	46M	39M
2004	95M	22M	190M	6M	35M	11M	19M	15M	80M	2M	53M	39M
2005	111M	28M	201M	8M	39M	11M	22M	18M	86M	5M	57M	42M
2006	138M	33M	206M	11M	53M	12M	26M	21M	88M	8M	59M	42M
2007	211M	47M	226M	14M	58M	13M	35M	23M	95M	10M	62M	46M
2008	299M	53M	225M	19M	64M	13M	46M	24M	97M	13M	64M	48M
2009	385M	63M	218M	17M	75M	15M	61M	30M	100M	15M	65M	52M
2010	459M	93M	222M	27M	79M	16M	70M	35M	100M	19M	67M	53M
2011	515M	127M	217M	31M	89M	16M	83M	43M	101M	24M	65M	54M
2012	573M	142M	235M	37M	96M	17M	95M	46M	101M	28M	66M	56M
2013	624M	159M	226M	38M	101M	19M	98M	51M	112M	35M	68M	58M
2014	657M	177M	233M	44M	109M	21M	102M	53M	113M	39M	70M	59M
2015	694M	198M	240M	58M	118M	24M	101M	70M	116M	43M	72M	60M
2016	738M	222M	277M	67M	124M	27M	106M	73M	118M	47M	69M	62M
2017	758M	247M	285M	86M	138M	31M	110M	65M	116M	52M	70M	60M
2018	917M	276M	291M	108M	145M	35M	118M	71M	113M	57M	72M	60M
2019	902M	410M	295M	130M	153M	39M	120M	88M	117M	62M	73M	62M
2020	989M	609M	300M	148M	170M	44M	123M	91M	114M	68M	75M	63M
2021	1,032M	697M	303M	172M	169M	69M	128M	97M	104M	78M	76M	64M
2022	1,068M	797M	310M	185M	169M	94M	130M	101M	106M	87M	76M	65M
2023	1,278M	866M	315M	195M	178M	119M	133M	105M	106M	91M	77M	65M
2024	1,296M	942M	322M	206M	179M	144M	136M	109M	106M	96M	78M	66M

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Frequently asked questions

Which country has the most internet users?

In 2024, China ranks #1 with 1,296M, followed by India (942M) and United States (322M). Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators: internet users (% of population, IT.NET.USER.ZS) × population (SP.POP.TOTL), millions.

Where does this data come from?

World Bank, World Development Indicators: internet users (% of population, IT.NET.USER.ZS) × population (SP.POP.TOTL), millions. Retrieved November 3, 2026. Years with no survey for a country are filled in smoothly between known points. You can download the full table as a CSV from this page.

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