Consumer technology adoption spans access, ownership, subscriptions, network reach, traffic and actual use. The figures below cover global estimates, U.S. adults and European Union residents or enterprises, with measurement periods and definitions kept explicit.
Key Consumer Technology Adoption Statistics
The most broadly useful measures include:
- 5.5 billion people, or 68% of the world population, were online in 2024, according to the ITU estimate.
- 2.6 billion people, or 32% of humanity, remained offline in 2024, using the ITU’s estimated internet-use measure.
- Global internet penetration rose from 40% in 2015 to 68% in 2024, based on the ITU’s revised-estimate series.
- Mobile broadband network coverage reached 96% of the global population in 2024, although coverage does not mean adoption or actual use.
- Internet use reached 93% in high-income countries and 27% in low-income countries in 2024, according to ITU income-group estimates.
- 83% of urban residents versus 48% of rural residents used the internet globally in 2024, based on ITU estimates.
- 95% of U.S. adults used the internet in Pew Research Center’s 2023 survey, conducted from May 19 to September 5.
- 90% of U.S. adults reported having a smartphone in 2023, in the same Pew survey.
- 80% of U.S. adults subscribed to high-speed internet at home in 2023, according to self-reported Pew survey data.
- 15% of U.S. adults were smartphone-dependent in 2023, meaning they owned a smartphone but lacked a home high-speed subscription.
- 93% of EU residents aged 16–74 used the internet during the three months before the 2024 survey, according to Eurostat.
- 75% of EU people bought or ordered goods or services online in 2023, measured over the previous 12 months.
- 70.9% of EU people aged 16–74 used an internet-connected smart device in 2024, measured over the previous three months.
- 57.9% of EU people aged 16–74 used an internet-connected television in 2024, using Eurostat’s three-month measure.
- 29.9% of EU people aged 16–74 used smartwatches or fitness trackers in 2024, using the same reference period.
- 56% of EU people had basic or above-basic digital skills in 2023, according to Eurostat’s composite indicator.
- 45% of EU businesses bought cloud-computing services in 2023, compared with 8% using AI technologies.
Contents
- Global consumer technology adoption statistics: internet and mobile scale
- Consumer technology adoption data by income, region and location
- U.S. smartphone, broadband and always-online adoption statistics
- Consumer technology use statistics: communication, shopping, banking and learning
- Smart-device and Internet of Things adoption statistics
- Business technology adoption statistics shaping consumer digital experiences
Global Consumer Technology Adoption Statistics: Internet and Mobile Scale
The ITU estimated that 5.5 billion people, or 68% of the world population, were online in 2024. Its revised-estimate series put global internet use at 65% in 2023, up from 40% in 2015. ITU, Facts and Figures 2024 – Internet use
About 2.6 billion people, or 32% of humanity, remained offline in 2024. This is the complement of the ITU’s estimated internet-use measure, and prior-year estimates may be revised. ITU, Facts and Figures 2024 – Internet use
Internet access is also associated with sharply different traffic volumes and network conditions:
- Mobile broadband traffic reached 1 zettabyte globally in 2023 and was estimated near 1.3 zettabytes in 2024; the 2024 value is an estimate rather than a final observation.
- Fixed broadband traffic was projected at 6 zettabytes in 2024, up from 5.1 zettabytes in 2023; the 2024 figure is estimated.
- Since 2021, mobile broadband traffic grew by an average 19.6% annually, compared with 15.2% for fixed broadband traffic.
These traffic figures come from ITU, Facts and Figures 2024 – Internet traffic. They describe end-user traffic, not the number of people, devices or subscriptions.
The global mobile broadband network coverage rate was 96% in 2024, according to the cited primary report. Coverage indicates that a network is available to a population; it does not establish adoption, subscription, ownership or actual use. GSMA, 2024 Mobile Industry Impact Report: Sustainable Development Goals
Consumer Technology Adoption Data by Income, Region and Location
The global headline conceals large differences by income group and region. In 2024, internet use reached 93% in high-income countries but only 27% in low-income countries, while Europe, the CIS and the Americas ranged from 87% to 92%.
| Geography or group | Internet use in 2024 | Measure |
|---|---|---|
| High-income countries | 93% | Population estimate |
| Low-income countries | 27% | Population estimate |
| Arab States | 70% | Regional estimate |
| Asia-Pacific | 66% | Regional estimate |
| Africa | 38% | Regional estimate |
| Least developed countries | 35% | Country-group estimate |
| Landlocked developing countries | 39% | Country-group estimate |
The figures are separate ITU estimates, not a pooled average. ITU, Facts and Figures 2024 – Internet use
Location matters within countries as well as between them. Globally, 83% of urban dwellers versus 48% of rural residents used the internet in 2024, producing an urban-to-rural use ratio of 1.7 that had remained at that level for four years.
Of the 2.6 billion people offline globally in 2024, 1.8 billion lived in rural areas and 800 million in urban areas. The counts are rounded allocations reported by the ITU, and urban and rural definitions follow country reporting.
The regional ratio was 1.1 in Europe and 2.5 in Africa in 2024. Only 16% of rural residents in low-income countries used the internet that year, showing why network presence alone does not describe effective access. ITU, Facts and Figures 2024 – Internet use in urban and rural areas
U.S. Smartphone, Broadband and Always-Online Adoption Statistics
Pew Research Center’s survey of 5,733 U.S. adults, conducted May 19–September 5, 2023, found that 95% used the internet, 90% had a smartphone and 80% subscribed to high-speed internet at home. These are self-reported, weighted survey estimates, and Pew notes that mode changes can affect comparisons with earlier waves. Pew Research Center, Americans’ Use of Mobile Technology and Home Broadband
Income and community type reveal different forms of access:
| U.S. adult group | Smartphone ownership | Home broadband subscription |
|---|---|---|
| Household income at least $100,000 | 98% | 95% |
| Household income below $30,000 | 79% | 57% |
| Rural communities | — | 73% |
| Suburban communities | — | 86% |
| Urban communities | — | 77% |
The smartphone and broadband figures are separate self-reported measures; the community comparison applies to home high-speed internet subscription. The same Pew survey defined 15% of U.S. adults as smartphone-dependent: they owned a smartphone but lacked a home high-speed subscription.
Smartphone dependence was 28% below $30,000 household income, 19% at $30,000–$69,999, 9% at $70,000–$99,999 and 4% at $100,000 or more. It was 24% among adults with a high-school-or-less education versus 6% among college graduates.
Use intensity was also high in 2023: nine in ten U.S. adults said they went online every day, while 41% said they used the internet almost constantly. That near-continuous-use measure was 62% among adults ages 18–29 and 15% among those 65 and older; all are self-reported perceptions rather than device telemetry. Pew Research Center, Americans’ Use of Mobile Technology and Home Broadband
Consumer Technology Use Statistics: Communication, Shopping, Banking and Learning
Eurostat reported that 93% of EU residents aged 16–74 used the internet during the three months before the 2024 survey, up from 86% in 2019. Within that same three-month reference period, the leading activities were communication, information seeking, video and banking.
| EU activity in 2024 | People aged 16–74 using it |
|---|---|
| Calls, video calls or instant messaging | 85% |
| 80% | |
| Finding information about goods and services | 75% |
| Watching television or videos | 73% |
| Internet banking | 67% |
| Online consultations or civic/political voting | 10% |
| Online course | 17% |
| Private learning activities | 17% |
Online calling and messaging increased 14 percentage points from 2019 to 2024, while email use increased 7 points. The activity figures refer to the previous three months, and the two learning measures are separate activities. Eurostat, People online in 2024
Shopping uses a different reference period. In 2023, 75% of EU people bought or ordered goods or services online during the previous 12 months, up from 57% in 2013.
Among EU internet users in 2023, online shopping ranged from 54% in Bulgaria and 55% in Romania to 93% in the Netherlands and Ireland. By age, the rate was 82% for ages 16–24, 78% for ages 25–64 and 52% for ages 65–74.
Internet banking rose from 55% of EU internet users in 2013 to 70% in 2023. In 2023, it was 73% among ages 25–64, 62% among ages 16–24 and 57% among ages 65–74. Eurostat, Digitalisation in Europe – 2024 edition
Smart-Device and Internet of Things Adoption Statistics
In 2024, 70.9% of EU people aged 16–74 used an internet-connected smart device during the previous three months. Country results ranged from 94.8% in the Netherlands, 90.6% in Ireland and 87.0% in Denmark to 46.1% in Poland, 50.8% in Bulgaria and 56.6% in Romania. Eurostat, Internet-connected devices are widely used in the EU
The device categories show that “smart-device adoption” is not one uniform behavior:
| Connected device or use | EU people aged 16–74 in 2024 |
|---|---|
| Internet-connected television | 57.9% |
| Smartwatch or fitness tracker | 29.9% |
| Games console | 19.5% |
| Internet-connected home audio system | 19.3% |
| Virtual assistant through a smart speaker | 16.0% |
| Home energy-management system | 14.2% |
| Smart home appliance | 12.8% |
| Smart home security device | 11.8% |
| Car with built-in wireless connectivity | 10.5% |
| Health-related Internet of Things device | 7.9% |
| Internet-connected toy | 2.3% |
These are Eurostat experience or use measures over the previous three months, not sales, household ownership or lifetime adoption. The categories are separate, so their percentages should not be added. Eurostat, Internet-connected devices are widely used in the EU
Business Technology Adoption Statistics Shaping Consumer Digital Experiences
Business adoption is not consumer adoption, but it helps describe the infrastructure behind digital services. In 2023, 45% of EU businesses bought cloud-computing services, including 78% of large businesses and 44% of SMEs.
Among EU businesses that used cloud computing, 83% used it to host email, 68% to store files and 66% for office software. Those percentages use cloud-using businesses as the denominator, not all enterprises.
Country-level cloud adoption among EU businesses was 78% in Finland, 72% in Sweden and 70% in Denmark in 2023. The measure means enterprises buying cloud services and does not establish intensity of use. Eurostat, Digitalisation in Europe – 2024 edition
AI adoption was more limited: 8% of EU businesses used AI technologies in 2023, including 30% of large businesses and 7% of SMEs. The country comparison was 15% in Denmark and Finland versus 2% in Romania, using Eurostat’s enterprise AI-use classification.
Other context measures include almost 10 million EU people working as ICT specialists in 2023, nearly 5% of total employment, and 61% of EU businesses using social media in 2023 compared with 34% in 2014. Neither figure is a consumer-adoption measure.
On the consumer side, 56% of EU people had basic or above-basic digital skills in 2023. The composite indicator reached 83% in the Netherlands and 82% in Finland, but it is not a direct performance test. Eurostat, Digitalisation in Europe – 2024 edition