European Internet User Forecasts
The number of internet users in the European region is forecast to reach 175.7 million this year and 221.2 million by 2004, according to a new report from eMarketer released today.
| European internet users (million) | ||
| Number Of Users (million) | % YoY Growth | |
| 2001 | 144.4 | |
| 2002 | 175.7 | 21.7 |
| 2003 | 196.2 | 11.7 |
| 2004 | 221.1 | 12.7 |
| Source: eMarketer, May 2002 | ||
Consensus forecasts According to a consensus of growth forecasts, there will be 167.9 million users in Europe by the end of this year and 220.2 million by 2004, slightly ahead of eMarketer’s own forecast.
| European internet users forecasts comparisons | |||||
| 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | |
| eMarkater, April 2002 | 109.0 | 144.4 | 175.7 | 196.2 | 221.1 |
| eTForecasts, July 2001 | 113.7 | 146.0 | 181.2 | 219.8 | 261.3 |
| Gartner Dataquest, May 2001 | 100.2 | 127.0 | 149.8 | 166.6 | 178.2 |
| Netsizer, October 2001 | n/a | 157.6 | 165.0 | n/a | n/a |
| Nielsen//NetRatings, March 2002 | n/a | 134.7 | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Average | 107.6 | 141.9 | 167.9 | 194.2 | 220.2 |
| Source: eMarketer, May 2002 | |||||
Germany leads the way Germany currently has the most web users and will continue to do so at least until 2004, according to the forecasts. The growth rate is similar in most European countries and there is a general levelling off of this rate, as shown in the graph below.
However, Italy’s user base is growing more slowly than the other major markets of Germany, the UK and France. France surpassed Italy last year and is forecast to reach 26.7 million users by 2004. The UK will have 32.6 million users by this time, with Germany and Italy at 42.5 million and 21.9 million respectively.
| Internet Users Forecasts By Country | |||||
| Number Of Users (million) | |||||
| 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | |
| Germany | 24.0 | 30.0 | 36.7 | 40.7 | 42.5 |
| UK | 18.0 | 24.0 | 28.6 | 31.4 | 32.6 |
| Italy | 13.2 | 16.0 | 19.2 | 21.1 | 21.9 |
| France | 8.5 | 15.7 | 21.2 | 25.0 | 26.7 |
| Source: eMarketer, May 2002 | |||||
| Internet users in selected European countries, 2001 | |
| Number of users (million) | |
| Germany | 30.0 |
| Italy | 24.0 |
| UK | 16.0 |
| France | 15.7 |
| Spain | 7.4 |
| Netherlands | 5.3 |
| Sweden | 4.6 |
| Russia | 4.3 |
| Poland | 3.8 |
| Portugal | 3.6 |
| Switzerland | 2.9 |
| Regional median | 2.9 |
| Belgium | 2.9 |
| Norway | 2.7 |
| Austria | 2.6 |
| Denmark | 2.4 |
| Finland | 2.2 |
| Hungry | 1.5 |
| Greece | 1.4 |
| Czech Republic | 1.4 |
| Slovak Republic | 0.7 |
| Estonia | 0.4 |
| Source: International Telecommunications Union, March 2002 | |