Following the momentum gained during the pandemic and with the evolution of social networks, Internet consumption habits around the world continue to strengthen and reach an increasing number of people. This is one of the main conclusions of the Digital Report 2025, the latest edition of the annual study conducted by We Are Social, which serves as an essential reference when analyzing the reality of the digital sector in areas such as eCommerce, apps, or social networks.
The report indicates that the number of Internet users worldwide reached 5.560 billion people at the beginning of 2025, representing 67.9 percent of the world population (in 2024, the penetration was 66.2 percent). Internet users increased by 136 million (+2.5 percent) during 2024, but 2.630 billion people remained disconnected at the start of 2025.
Regarding Internet users on mobile devices, in February 2025, they reached 70.5 percent of the population (compared to 69.4 percent in 2024), meaning 5.780 billion people, representing a 2 percent year-on-year increase, and for more context, a rise of 112 million users in the last 12 months.
Meanwhile, the data shows that smartphones now account for nearly 87 percent of mobile phones in use worldwide.
Despite the growth in internet usage, there are areas worldwide where the population is almost entirely connected, while others still show slower penetration.
Further detailing these figures, the countries with the highest internet penetration are led by Denmark, the Netherlands, Norway, Saudi Arabia, Switzerland, and the United Arab Emirates, all at 99 percent. They are followed by Ireland (98.9 percent), Sweden (98.3 percent), Finland (98.2 percent), the United Kingdom (97.8 percent), Malaysia (97.7 percent), and South Korea (97.4 percent).
In 2024, Spain drops three positions, down to 15th place, with 96.4 percent internet penetration, although this figure represents a 0.4 percent increase from the previous edition. On the other hand, the countries with the lowest internet penetration are India (55.3 percent), Kenya (48 percent), Pakistan (45.7 percent), Nigeria (45.4 percent), and Bangladesh (44.5 percent), and they do not reach the global penetration average of 67.9 percent.
According to the latest report, the region with the highest internet penetration continues to be Northern Europe (97.7 percent), but the second place is again held by Western Europe (95.1 percent), displacing North America, which decreases by over 3 points (from 96.8 percent to 93.3 percent). Following them are Southern Europe (91.6 percent) and Eastern Europe (90.6 percent). On the other hand, just as in 2023 and 2024, the regions with the lowest internet penetration are Central Africa (33.6 percent) and Eastern Africa (42.5 percent).
This is a remarkable evolution when reviewing the number of internet users over the past four decades. Around the year 2000, the number of internet users worldwide was only 396 million, a figure that grew exponentially up to 2025, with an increase of 1,301 percent over the last 25 years, as shown in the following graph:
And, of course, over these years, the time and usage given to the internet have evolved: in 2012, the average daily time internet users spent browsing the web was 6 hours and 36 minutes, a time that gradually increased with a significant jump in 2020 with a 4.2 percent rise (6 hours and 58 minutes). However, this time decreased in 2022 by 5.1 percent compared to the previous year.
In 2022, We are Social changed the measurement methodology. Additionally, in 2024, those over 65 were added into the study, making it impossible to compare data with previous years. If we only consider values since the last modification, we can say that between January 2024 and January 2025, internet usage time increased by 7 minutes, going from an average of 6 hours, 31 minutes of web browsing to an average of 6 hours, 38 minutes.
When segmenting internet usage by countries, South Africans continue to spend the most time browsing, with an average of 9 hours 37 seconds (13 seconds more than in 2024), followed by Brazil (9:09) and the Philippines (8:52).
As in 2024, we find Spain below the global average (6 hours 38 minutes), in 38th place, with an average browsing time of 5 hours 40 seconds, 3 seconds less than the previous year.
This time, the study shows us a detailed graph of the main reasons for internet use worldwide. Just like in 2024, finding information is the principal reason with 62.8 percent of the total (versus 60.9 percent in 2024), followed by staying in touch with friends and family (60.2 percent versus 56.6 percent in 2024); and the need to keep up with events and news (55 percent versus 51.9 percent in 2024), which regains third place in importance, displacing watching videos, shows, and movies (54.7 percent versus 52.3 percent in 2024).
Other reasons for using the internet are researching how to do things (51.1 percent) and finding inspiration or new ideas (46.9 percent).
According to the report Digital 2024, the number of internet users was 5.360 billion people, representing 66.2 percent of the world population. The number of internet users increased by 1.8 percent compared to 2023, with a rate similar to that of 2023.
In 2024, the two regions with the highest internet penetration were Northern Europe (97.6 percent) and North America (96.8 percent), followed by Western Europe (94.5 percent). On the other hand, the regions with the lowest internet penetration were Central Africa (31.2 percent) and Eastern Africa (42.3 percent).
Photo: Depositphotos
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