Internet Use by Country (2024)
With over five billion global internet users going online every day for a multitude of reasons, there’s no question that the web has taken over the daily lives of consumers worldwide.
That said, accessibility to the internet can vary greatly from country to country. Here’s a look at the internet penetration rate by country.
Internet penetration rate by country: table
|
Country |
Internet penetration rate |
|
Netherlands |
99.0% |
|
Norway |
99.0% |
|
Saudi Arabia |
99.0% |
|
Switzerland |
99.0% |
|
United Arab Emirates |
99.0% |
|
Denmark |
99.0% |
|
Sweden |
98.1% |
|
United Kingdom |
97.8% |
|
Malaysia |
97.7% |
|
South Korea |
97.4% |
Internet penetration by country: top six
The latest data shows that, at 99%, six countries across Europe and Asia have the highest internet penetration rates in the world in 2024. These are the Netherlands, Norway, Saudi Arabia, Switzerland, the United Arab Emirates, and Denmark. Essentially, nearly every single person living in these countries uses the internet. Their internet penetration rates are significantly higher than the worldwide average of 67.5%, which equates to around two out of every three people.
Despite their joint lead, the amount of time spent online by internet users in these six countries differs significantly. Globally, the average amount of time spent on the internet per day is six hours and 36 minutes. In the UAE and Saudi Arabia, internet users spend eight hours and one minute and six hours and 43 minutes a day online, respectively. But in the four European countries, the average time spent online every day is significantly lower at under six hours each.
Incidentally, the UAE also has the fastest fixed internet speed in the world. At 398.51 megabytes per second, it is also the country with the fastest download connection on mobile devices.
Internet penetration by country: seventh to 10th
Sweden is next in seventh place on this list ranking internet penetration rate by country, with a rate of 98.1%. Internet users there spend six hours and two minutes a day online.
The United Kingdom and Malaysia follow on the list of internet use by country with internet penetration rates of 97.8% and 97.7%, respectively. The average daily time spent online by internet users in the UK is five hours and 33 minutes, more than an hour less than the global average, while that of Malaysia is eight hours and 13 minutes. South Korea rounds out the list sorting internet use by country, with a penetration rate of 97.4%.