How Many People Use Email?
Whether it’s for work or personal use, email has become part and parcel of our daily lives. As an ecommerce business owner, knowing how many people use email can help you craft an effective marketing strategy, as it’s one of the most popular and important communication channels available.
Email user statistics: 2023–2027
According to a study that has been tracking email user statistics since 1993, the number of email users is set to top 4.48 billion worldwide in 2024. This is a 3% increase from the previous year and represents more than half of the global population.
Analysts expect this number to continue rising in the coming years, growing by another 3% to 4.59 billion in 2025 and another 3% to 4.73 billion the following year. By 2027, the number of email users worldwide is projected to hit 4.84 billion.
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In other words, in just three years, the number of people using email around the world is forecast to grow by 8.2%.
How many people use email: top drivers
According to experts analyzing email user statistics, this increase is driven by both consumers and businesses, both of whom rely heavily on email as part of their online experience. Personal users, for instance, are often required to use their email accounts to gain access to online platforms like social media sites.
It’s also not uncommon for some personal users to have multiple accounts, each for a different purpose. In fact, experts estimate that the average email user in 2022 had 1.86 accounts.
Meanwhile, businesses—especially ecommerce businesses—depend on email marketing to communicate with their customers. In this regard, key uses include notifying buyers of their orders, sending shipping updates, reminding them of unfinished purchases, and more.
The growth in the number of email users is in line with the number of emails sent and received per day, which is also set to increase over the next few years and exceed 400 billion by 2027.
That said, what email service providers do most people use? The most popular email client worldwide is Apple Mail, the go-to choice of more than half (58%) of all email users worldwide. This is followed by Google’s Gmail, with around 29%. The third most popular email client is Microsoft Outlook. At less than 5%, its market share is just a fraction of Apple’s.