Internet penetration rate worldwide 2021, by region

As of January 2021, Northern Europe was ranked first when it came to regions with the highest internet penetration rate with 96 percent of the population having internet access. This was followed closely by Western Europe at 93 percent. Overall, the global average penetration rate was 59.5 percent, an increase of 7.3 percent from the same period a year prior.

Global internet use

The ongoing development of telecommunication networks and infrastructure has had a direct impact on internet penetration on a global scale. Thanks to advancing mobile technology and the ongoing modernization of previously less-developed regions, the number of internet users worldwide has been on the rise since 2005. This reached nearly 4 billion by 2019. In the world-wide-web, Google's Chrome still continues to hold the largest market share when it comes to internet browsers, roughly 63 percent of the total market as of December 2020. This was followed by Apple's Safari at 19 percent.

Majority of global internet users are in Asia

Asia has the largest internet user base – over 2.5 billion internet users in this region alone – with East Asia accounting for the majority of this share. Despite the large volume of internet users in this region, Asia is far from being a leader in regards of online penetration. East Asia, for instance, had an online penetration rate of 68 percent as of January 2021, slightly above the global average that year, which stood at 59.5 percent. Here, Northern Europe was a clear global leader, with an online penetration rate of 96 percent.