Computer use is measured through several related but different lenses: Internet use, household device ownership, subscriptions, and employment in technology occupations. The figures below make those definitions explicit, spanning global 2024 estimates, U.S. household survey results from 2021, and U.S. labor-market data from 2023–2024.
Key Computer Use Statistics
The most useful headline figures are:
- In 2024, 5.5 billion people, or 68% of the world population, used the Internet according to an ITU estimate.
- In 2024, 2.6 billion people, or about 32% of the global population, remained offline.
- Global Internet use increased from 40% of the world population in 2015 to 68% in 2024.
- In 2024, 93% of people in high-income countries used the Internet, compared with 27% in low-income countries.
- In 2024, Internet use reached 92% in the Americas, 87% in Europe and CIS countries, and 38% in Africa within the reported regional range and estimates.
- In 2024, 79% of people aged 15–24 used the Internet globally, compared with 66% of the rest of the population.
- In 2024, 70% of men and 65% of women used the Internet globally.
- In 2024, 83% of urban dwellers and 48% of rural dwellers used the Internet worldwide.
- In 2024, 1.8 billion of the world’s offline people lived in rural areas, compared with 800 million in urban areas.
- In 2021, 95.5% of U.S. urban households and 93.1% of rural households had any computer.
- In 2021, 81.5% of U.S. urban households and 76.4% of rural households had a desktop or laptop.
- In 2021, 91.0% of U.S. urban households and 86.6% of rural households had a broadband subscription.
- In 2021, 99% of U.S. households earning at least $150,000 had a computing device, compared with 85% of households earning under $25,000.
- In 2024 annual averages, 6.386 million people worked in U.S. computer and mathematical occupations.
- In 2024 annual averages, 2.077 million people worked as software developers in the United States.
- BLS projected 29% growth for U.S. information security analyst employment from 2024 to 2034.
- In May 2024, U.S. computer occupations had mean annual pay of $116,770.
Contents
- Computer use statistics worldwide: users and adoption trends
- Computer and Internet access data by income and region
- Computer use statistics by age, gender and location
- U.S. household computer ownership and broadband statistics
- Computer use and technology occupation statistics
- Computer use trends, gaps and measurable digital participation
Computer Use Statistics Worldwide: Users and Adoption Trends
The ITU estimated that 5.5 billion people used the Internet in 2024, equivalent to 68% of the world population. This is an Internet-use estimate, not a count of people who own a desktop or laptop computer.
The same ITU series puts annual Internet-user growth at 3.4% in 2024, up from 2.7% in 2023. Across the longer 2015–2024 period, Internet use rose from 40% to 68% of the world population, while ITU calculated average annual growth of 6.1%.
| Global measure | Earlier period or value | 2024 value |
|---|---|---|
| Population using the Internet | 40% in 2015 | 68% |
| Annual Internet-user growth | 2.7% in 2023 | 3.4% |
| People offline | — | 2.6 billion, about 32% |
Source: Measuring digital development: Facts and Figures 2024. The figures are ITU estimates, and historical estimates may be revised.
ITU’s convention for “universal usage” is at least 95% of the population using the Internet. On that definition, the global 68% rate in 2024 still represented substantial distance from universal use, while allowing that some people may never want to connect.
Computer and Internet Access Data by Income and Region
Income and geography remain strong separators in Internet access. In 2024, use reached 93% in high-income countries but only 27% in low-income countries, where the average growth rate was 8.5% during the year.
| Geography or income group | Internet use in 2024 |
|---|---|
| High-income countries | 93% |
| Upper-middle-income countries | 85% |
| Lower-middle-income countries | 63% |
| Low-income countries | 27% |
| Europe, CIS countries and the Americas | 87%–92% |
| Arab States | 70% |
| Asia-Pacific | 66% |
| Africa | 38% |
| Least developed countries | 35% |
| Landlocked developing countries | 39% |
Source: Measuring digital development: Facts and Figures 2024. Regional, income-group and country-group values are ITU estimates.
The urban-rural split is also visible within income groups. Urban Internet use was 95% in high-income countries, 85% in upper-middle-income countries, 63% in lower-middle-income countries and 16% in low-income countries in 2024; rural use was 88%, 55%, 25% and 16%, respectively.
These values measure Internet use rather than household computer ownership, connection speed or subscription quality. Comparisons also reflect ITU country-group estimates and may be affected by revisions.
Computer Use Statistics by Age, Gender and Location
Age, sex and residence reveal different forms of the digital participation gap. Globally, 70% of men and 65% of women used the Internet in 2024, leaving 189 million more male than female users; the estimated gap had narrowed from 277 million in 2021.
The global gender-parity score, defined as the female percentage divided by the male percentage, increased from 0.91 in 2019 to 0.94 in 2024. In least developed countries, however, the score fell from 0.74 to 0.70 over the same period.
| Population comparison | 2024 estimate |
|---|---|
| Ages 15–24 using the Internet | 79% globally |
| Rest of population using the Internet | 66% globally |
| Urban population using the Internet | 83% globally |
| Rural population using the Internet | 48% globally |
| Male Internet users | 70% globally |
| Female Internet users | 65% globally |
Source: Measuring digital development: Facts and Figures 2024. Youth means ages 15–24, while the comparison group is under 15 or over 24; age scope can vary by country.
Young people’s use exceeded the rest of the population by 13 percentage points in 2024. In low-income countries, people aged 15–24 were 1.9 times as likely to use the Internet as other individuals, down from a ratio of 2.2 in 2021.
Of the 2.6 billion people offline in 2024, an estimated 1.8 billion lived in rural areas and 800 million in urban areas. The global urban-rural Internet-use ratio was 1.7 in 2024 and had remained at that level for four years.
U.S. Household Computer Ownership and Broadband Statistics
U.S. Census American Community Survey estimates for 2021 show high household access, but the measure changes depending on whether it includes smartphones and tablets. Any computer was present in 95.5% of urban households and 93.1% of rural households, while desktop or laptop ownership was lower.
| U.S. household measure, 2021 | Urban | Rural |
|---|---|---|
| Any computer | 95.5% | 93.1% |
| Desktop or laptop | 81.5% | 76.4% |
| Smartphone | 90.7% | 87.1% |
| Tablet | 64.6% | 60.4% |
| Any Internet subscription | 91.1% | 86.9% |
| Broadband subscription | 91.0% | 86.6% |
Source: Computer and Internet Use in the United States: 2021. These are household-level ACS estimates; “any computer” includes a desktop or laptop, smartphone or tablet, and broadband is a subscription measure rather than measured connection speed.
Socioeconomic differences were also substantial. In 2021, 99% of U.S. households earning at least $150,000 had a computing device, compared with 85% of households earning under $25,000; 99% of households where the householder had a bachelor’s degree or higher had one, compared with 84% where the householder had less than a high-school education.
Homeowners reported 96% computer ownership and 92% Internet subscription rates, compared with 94% and 87% among renters. Households with at least one member with a disability reported 91% computer ownership and 84% broadband subscription, versus 97% and 92% for households without a disabled member.
Computer Use and Technology Occupation Statistics
Labor-market data show the scale of computer-intensive work without pretending that occupation counts equal all computer users. BLS 2024 annual averages counted 6.386 million employed people in the U.S. computer and mathematical occupation group.
| U.S. occupation | Employed people, 2024 annual average |
|---|---|
| Software developers | 2.077 million |
| Computer support specialists | 633,000 |
| Computer systems analysts | 547,000 |
| Computer programmers | 334,000 |
| Information security analysts | 243,000 |
| Network and computer systems administrators | 154,000 |
| Computer network architects | 139,000 |
Source: Employed persons by detailed occupation and age, 2024 annual averages. The occupation group is broader than computer-device users.
Among employed U.S. workers with a computer and information technology degree in 2023, 47% worked in computer and mathematical occupations, 16% in management, and 8% in business and financial operations. Among software developers, 24% held a computer and information technology degree in 2023; the degree measure does not represent the share using computers.
BLS projected information security analyst employment to grow 29% from 2024 to 2034, software developer employment 16%, computer and information systems manager employment 15%, and computer systems analyst employment 9%. These are employment forecasts, not forecasts of public computer ownership or usage.
Computer Use Trends, Gaps and Measurable Digital Participation
U.S. occupational wage data provide an additional view of the economic scale around computer work. BLS listed 4,786,660 computer-occupation jobs in May 2024, with mean annual pay of $116,770; mean hourly pay was $56.14 and median hourly pay was $50.96.
Source: Occupational Employment and Wages – May 2024. Mean and median wages are different measures, and the aggregate describes U.S. computer occupations rather than all computer users.
In the data-processing, hosting and related-services industry table for 2024, BLS listed 2,630 computer programmer jobs with mean annual pay of $87,670, 66,400 computer support specialist jobs with mean annual pay of $71,540, and 97,930 computer systems analyst jobs with mean annual pay of $104,690. These are industry-specific figures, not totals for each occupation across the U.S.
Computer and mathematical occupations had 13.1% of workers with a certification or license in 2024 annual averages. The components were 6.1% with a certification but no license and 7.0% with a license, measures of credentials rather than computer-use frequency.
BLS projected computer programmer employment to decline 6% from 2024 to 2034 and computer user support specialist employment to decline 4%. Those projections concern employment, not support demand, device ownership or the number of people using computers.
Taken together, the data distinguish adoption from intensity and access from outcomes: ITU estimates describe Internet participation, Census figures describe U.S. households, and BLS figures describe occupations, wages, credentials and forecasts. The measurement period, population and definition should therefore remain attached to every comparison.