Internet Use by Country
With over 5 billion global internet users going online every day for a multitude of reasons, there’s no question that the web has taken over the daily lives of consumers worldwide.
That said, accessibility to the internet can vary greatly from country to country. Here’s a look at the internet penetration rate by country.
Internet use by country: top seven
The latest data shows that, at 99%, seven different countries in Europe and Asia have the highest internet penetration rates in the world in 2024. These are: the Netherlands, Switzerland, Norway, Saudi Arabia, Ireland, the United Arab Emirates, and Denmark. Essentially, nearly every single person living in these countries uses the internet. Their penetration rates are significantly higher than the worldwide average of 66.2%, which equates to around two out of every three people.
Despite their joint lead, the amount of time spent online by internet users in these seven countries differs pretty significantly. Globally, the average amount of time spent on the internet per day is six hours and 40 minutes. In Malaysia and the UAE, internet users spend around eight hours and 15 minutes a day, nearly 1.5 hours longer than the global average. But in the Netherlands and Denmark, the total time spent online is significantly lower at five hours and 30 minutes and five hours and eight minutes, respectively.
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Incidentally, the UAE also has one of the fastest fixed internet speeds in the world. At 239.4 megabytes per second, it’s the country with the fifth-fastest connection for downloads. Interestingly, it is also the country whose cost of a fixed broadband internet package is the highest, at $61.18 per package.
Internet use by country: eighth to 10th
Sweden is next in eighth place on this list ranking internet penetration rate by country, with a rate of 98.1%. Internet users there spend six hours and seven minutes a day online.
The United Kingdom and Malaysia follow on the list of internet use by country with internet penetration rates of 97.8% and 97.4%, respectively. The average daily time spent online by internet users in the UK is six hours and two minutes, nearly half an hour less than the global average.