Over 600 million people worldwide now have access to the web according to statistics from Nua Internet Surveys.
The Irish-based company calculates that 605.6 million people had internet access by the end of September, up from 580.7 million at the end of May (see
One-Tenth of The Global Population Now Online, Says Report). Europe, with over 190 million users, now has the largest internet population but the most significant growth has occurred in the Asia-Pacific region which has now overtaken North America.
The number of internet users in Canada and the United States has now stabilised around the 183 million mark, indicating that saturation levels are approaching. By contrast, there is plenty of scope for expansion in the developing markets of Latin America, Africa and the Middle East.
| Internet Usage, By Region |
| |
|
|
| Region |
Users (m) |
Share (%) |
| Africa |
6.31 |
1.0 |
| Asia/Pacific |
187.24 |
30.9 |
| Europe |
190.91 |
31.5 |
| Middle East |
5.12 |
0.8 |
| Canada & USA |
182.67 |
30.2 |
| Latin America |
33.35 |
5.5 |
| Total |
605.60 |
100.0 |
| Source: Nua Internet Surveys, October 2002 |
