The total global internet audience (age 15 and older from home and work computers) surpassed 1 billion visitors in December 2008, according to data from the comScore World Metrix audience measurement service.
The Asia-Pacific region accounted for the highest share of global internet users at 41%, followed by Europe (28% share), North America (18% share), Latin-America (7% share), and the Middle East & Africa (5% share).
| Total Worldwide Internet Audience: Regional Breakdown, Regional Breakdown, Ranked by Total Unique Visitors (000)* December 2008, Age 15+, Home and Work Locations |
| Region |
Total Unique Visitors (000) |
Share of Total Worldwide Internet Audience (%) |
| Worldwide |
1,007,730 |
100.0% |
| Asia Pacific |
416,281 |
41.3% |
| Europe |
282,651 |
28.0% |
| North America |
185,109 |
18.4% |
| Latin America |
74,906 |
7.4% |
| Middle East Africa |
48,783 |
4.8% |
| *Excludes traffic from public computers such as internet cafes or access from mobile phones or PDAs. |
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“Surpassing one billion global users is a significant landmark in the history of the internet,” said Magid Abraham, President and Chief Executive Officer, comScore.
“It is a monument to the increasingly unified global community in which we live and reminds us that the world truly is becoming more flat. The second billion will be online before we know it, and the third billion will arrive even faster than that, until we have a truly global network of interconnected people and ideas that transcend borders and cultural boundaries.”
China represented the largest online audience in the world in December 2008 with 180 million internet users, representing nearly 18% of the total worldwide internet audience, followed by the US (16.2% share), Japan (6% share), Germany (3.7% share) and the UK (3.6% share).
Earlier this week, a survey by Gallup found that Americans’ frequent use of the internet has almost doubled over the last five years (see Americans’ internet use rises).
Last November, a report from the European Interactive Advertising Association found that over half (55%) of European internet users are now online every day.
Three quarters (75%) are using the internet during their evenings, and 51% (up 13% from in 2007) are on the web at the weekends (see 55% of European internet users online every day).
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