Global Online Population Growth Flattens
Growth of the worldwide internet population has begun to plateau according to the latest data from Nielsen//NetRatings.
The second quarter 2002 edition of the Global Internet Trends survey found that there are now 553 million people worldwide with internet access. This is up just 4.0% on the first quarter of the year when the population was 531 million.
| Internet Users With PC Access | ||
| Number (million) | % of world internet population | |
| US | 166.4 | 30.1 |
| Europe | 133.2 | 24.1 |
| Asia & Pacific | 77.5 | 14.0 |
| Latin America | 14.0 | 2.5 |
| Rest of the world | 161.9 | 29.3 |
| Total | 553.0 | 100.0 |
| Source: Nielsen//NetRatings, August 2002 | ||
The US continues to lead the world’s web adoption, although it is Hong Kong that has the highest proportion of high-speed users, where 66% are connected to the web via a broadband service.
Germany and Sweden rank next in terms of high-speed usage, whilst the UK is way down the list with 86% of households still connected to the Net via a 56k or less modem.
“The internet has yet to hit on the must-have content that would inspire greater numbers of surfers to seek high speed connections,” says Lisa Strand, director and chief analyst, Nielsen//NetRatings.
| Highest Connection Speed On Home PC (% Of Homes) | |||
| High speed telephone line (ISDN, DSL etc.) | Cable modem | 56k or less modem | |
| Hong Kong | 54 | 12 | 34 |
| Germany | 39 | 6 | 55 |
| Sweden | 33 | 10 | 57 |
| Netherlands | 20 | 21 | 58 |
| Spain | 18 | 7 | 75 |
| Italy | 18 | 2 | 79 |
| France | 17 | 5 | 77 |
| Brazil | 15 | 7 | 79 |
| UK | 9 | 5 | 86 |
| US | 5 | 12 | 83 |
| Australia | 5 | 5 | 90 |
| Source: Nielsen//NetRatings, August 2002 | |||