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About 6 billion people—74% of the world’s population—used the internet in 2025, according to the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). The estimate leaves 2.2 billion people offline. These are the latest global adoption figures in the sources cited here; they describe internet use during 2025, not a count of users measured in 2026.
Global internet use: the latest comparable estimates
The ITU, the official source for global ICT statistics, estimates that approximately 6 billion people, or 74% of the world’s population, used the internet in 2025. It estimates that 2.2 billion people remained offline. The ITU says the share using the internet rose from 60% in 2020, with an estimated 1.3 billion people coming online over that period. ITU statistics
A separate estimate from Kepios, published by DataReportal in Digital 2026, put the number at 6.04 billion people, or 73.2% of the population, at the start of October 2025. Kepios calculated year-on-year growth of 294 million people, or 5.1%, and noted that revisions in India and China explain much of the apparent jump from an earlier estimate. This is a distinct estimate with its own inputs and snapshot date, not an update to the ITU series. DataReportal, Digital 2026
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| Publisher and reference point | People using the internet | Share of population | Offline population |
|---|---|---|---|
| ITU, 2025 estimate | About 6 billion | 74% | 2.2 billion |
| Kepios/DataReportal, start of October 2025 | 6.04 billion | 73.2% | not stated by source |
The estimates are close but not interchangeable: they come from different publishers and snapshot conventions. ITU also revised its 2024 estimate in its 2025 release. The revised figure is 5.8 billion people online, or 71%, and 2.3 billion offline; the earlier estimate had been 5.5 billion online and 2.6 billion offline. That revision is a change in the estimate, not evidence that 300 million people suddenly went offline. ITU, Facts and Figures 2025 release, 17 November 2025
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Internet access remains uneven
Worldwide averages conceal substantial differences in who is connected. ITU’s 2025 estimates show gaps by location, gender, age and region. The percentages below refer to internet use within each named group, not each group’s share of all users. ITU, Facts and Figures 2025
Urban and rural residents
In 2025, 85% of people living in urban areas used the internet, compared with 58% of people in rural areas—a 27-percentage-point gap.
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Men and women
ITU estimated internet use at 77% for men and 71% for women worldwide in 2025, a six-percentage-point difference.
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Among people aged 15–24, internet use was 82% in 2025. For the rest of the population, it was 72%.
Regional adoption rates
| ITU region | Internet use in 2025 |
|---|---|
| Africa | 36% |
| Americas | 88% |
| Arab States | 70% |
| Asia-Pacific | 77% |
| CIS | 93% |
| Europe | 92% |
These are ITU region labels and estimates, not country-level rankings. The figures show why a single global percentage cannot explain local access: region and demographic group matter. ITU, Internet use presentation, 14 January 2026
Why “internet statistics” does not mean one universal count
Internet-use estimates count people judged to be users; they do not count devices, accounts, websites, visits or data transferred. Even two estimates of users may differ because publishers use different inputs, dates and population estimates, or revise earlier series. When comparing figures, check the publisher, reference date, population denominator, revision status and how internet use is defined.
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The 2026 label in a report title does not necessarily mean its statistics measure 2026. In the estimates above, the underlying reference period is 2025. A fair comparison keeps that period attached to each number.
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The figures cited here do not establish a comparable worldwide total of websites or a global internet-traffic total. A website count depends on what is being counted—such as registered domains, live sites or pages—and a traffic total needs a defined unit, measurement window and inclusion rules. Without those definitions and a dated source, a headline number would be misleading.
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One available web statistic illustrates the distinction: W3Techs reported Cloudflare CDN usage on 25% of websites in a statistic dated 5 January 2026. That is a share associated with a web technology, not a count of all websites and not a share of internet traffic. W3Techs web technology surveys
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Infrastructure figures provide context, not a traffic measurement
The ITU’s Global Connectivity Report 2025 says submarine cables carry over 99% of international data flows and that data centres consume about 1.5% of global electricity. These figures describe parts of the infrastructure behind connectivity; they do not measure all internet traffic or the number of people using the internet. The report frames meaningful connectivity through six dimensions: “Quality, Availability, Affordability, Devices, Skills, and Security.” ITU, Global Connectivity Report 2025
Quick Recap
How to read internet statistics accurately
- Keep the measurement year with the number; a report published in 2026 may describe 2025.
- Name the publisher, especially when comparing separate estimates such as ITU and Kepios/DataReportal.
- Distinguish a revised historical estimate from actual growth in the population online.
- For access-gap figures, retain the source’s group labels and compare percentages within groups.
- Do not treat technology adoption, such as CDN use, as a website census or traffic share.
- For traffic or website totals, require a clear definition, time window, unit and coverage before comparing figures.
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