Internet access reached an estimated 5.5 billion users worldwide in 2024, but participation remained sharply divided by income, residence, gender, age and geography. These statistics describe who was online, how networks and subscriptions expanded, what access cost, and how people used the Internet.
Key Internet Access Statistics
The following figures summarize the main measures across the global and European Union data:
- In 2024, 5.5 billion people, or 68% of the world’s population, used the Internet worldwide.
- In 2024, about 2.6 billion people, roughly one-third of the world, remained offline.
- In 2024, 93% of people in high-income countries used the Internet, compared with 27% in low-income countries.
- In 2024, 70% of men and 65% of women worldwide used the Internet.
- In 2024, 79% of people aged 15–24 used the Internet, compared with 66% of other age groups worldwide.
- In 2024, 83% of urban residents and 48% of rural residents worldwide used the Internet.
- In 2024, 1.8 billion of the world’s offline people lived in rural areas and 800 million lived in urban areas.
- In 2024, mobile-cellular subscriptions totaled 112 per 100 inhabitants worldwide.
- In 2024, 5G covered 51% of the world population, including 84% in high-income countries and 4% in low-income countries.
- Between 2023 and 2024, the global median mobile-broadband basket fell from 1.3% to 1.1% of GNI per capita.
- In 2024, a low-income subscriber paid about 19 times as much of income for mobile broadband as a high-income subscriber.
- In 2024, mobile-broadband traffic approached 1.3 zettabytes worldwide.
- In 2024, average monthly mobile traffic was 16.2 GB per subscription in high-income countries and 2 GB in low-income countries.
- In 2024, four out of five people aged 10 or older worldwide owned a mobile phone.
- In 2024, 93% of EU residents aged 16–74 had used the Internet in the previous three months.
- In 2024, 85% of EU residents aged 16–74 used the Internet for calls, video calls or instant messaging.
Contents
- Global internet access scale and regional adoption
- Income, gender and age gaps in internet participation
- Urban-rural divides and the offline population
- Broadband subscriptions and mobile network reach
- Internet access affordability and cost burdens
- Traffic intensity, device gateways and digital skills
- Household access and online activities in the European Union
Global Internet Access Statistics: Scale and Regional Adoption
The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) estimated that 5.5 billion people used the Internet in 2024, equal to 68% of the world’s population. The global user share increased from 65% in 2023 to 68% in 2024, while about 2.6 billion people remained offline.
The figures are ITU estimates, and prior years may be revised. They measure Internet use rather than network availability, subscription ownership or a particular online activity. ITU, Facts and Figures 2024 – Internet use
| Geography | Internet use in 2024 |
|---|---|
| High-income countries | 93% |
| Arab States | 70% |
| Asia-Pacific | 66% |
| Low-income countries | 27% |
| Africa | 38% |
The regional and income differences show why a single global adoption rate can conceal very different access conditions. High-income countries reached 93% use, while only 27% of people in low-income countries used the Internet in 2024; Africa’s rate was 38%.
Internet Access Data by Income, Gender and Age
Internet participation differed by sex and age as well as by national income. In 2024, 70% of men and 65% of women worldwide used the Internet, leaving 189 million more male than female users.
The ITU’s global Internet gender-parity score rose from 0.91 in 2019 to 0.94 in 2024. The ITU considers 0.98–1.02 to represent parity, so the reported global score remained below that range.
The picture was less uniform across regions and income groups:
- The gender-parity score in Asia-Pacific increased from 0.89 in 2019 to 0.95 in 2024.
- In least developed countries, the score fell from 0.74 in 2019 to 0.70 in 2024.
- In 2024, 79% of people aged 15–24 worldwide used the Internet, compared with 66% of other age groups.
- In low-income countries, people aged 15–24 were 1.9 times as likely to use the Internet as other age groups in 2024.
These are ITU estimates, and prior years may be revised. The age comparison identifies participation rates for the stated populations; it does not measure time spent online or the quality of connection. ITU, Facts and Figures 2024 – The gender digital divide and ITU, Facts and Figures 2024 – Youth Internet use
Urban-Rural Internet Access Divides and the Offline Population
Residence was a major divider in the 2024 global estimates. Internet use reached 83% among urban dwellers but only 48% among rural residents, producing an urban-to-rural use ratio of 1.7 in every year from 2021 through 2024.
Of the estimated 2.6 billion people offline in 2024, 1.8 billion lived in rural areas and 800 million lived in urban areas. The rural total therefore represented the larger share of the offline population, even though rural and urban populations are not the same size.
| Geography | Urban-to-rural use ratio, 2024 | Additional access measure |
|---|---|---|
| Europe | 1.1 | — |
| World | 1.7 | 83% urban; 48% rural |
| Africa | 2.5 | — |
| Low-income countries | 2.9 | 16% of rural residents online |
Only 16% of rural residents in low-income countries used the Internet in 2024. In that income group, the urban-to-rural ratio narrowed from 3.1 in 2021 to 2.9 in 2024, but the remaining difference was substantial.
These figures are ITU estimates and prior years may be revised. ITU, Facts and Figures 2024 – Internet use in urban and rural areas
Broadband Subscriptions and Mobile Network Coverage
Subscription counts describe connections, not unique people. In 2024, the world had 112 mobile-cellular subscriptions and 95 mobile-broadband subscriptions per 100 inhabitants, alongside 9.1 billion mobile-cellular subscriptions; multiple subscriptions per person are possible.
| Indicator | 2019–2024 average annual growth | 2024 level |
|---|---|---|
| Mobile-cellular subscriptions | 1.1% | 112 per 100 inhabitants |
| Mobile-broadband subscriptions | 5% | 95 per 100 inhabitants |
| Fixed-broadband subscriptions | 5.9% | Not supplied |
High-income countries had 138 mobile-cellular subscriptions per 100 inhabitants in 2024, compared with 71 in low-income countries. ITU, Facts and Figures 2024 – Subscriptions
Network reach was broader than actual use. In 2024, 4G covered 92% of the world population and 3G-or-better mobile broadband covered 96%, while 5G covered 51%.
Coverage means availability, not whether people used the network.
5G coverage reached 84% of the population in high-income countries but only 4% in low-income countries. Africa had 14% of its population outside 3G-or-better mobile-broadband coverage. ITU, Facts and Figures 2024 – Mobile network coverage
Internet Access Affordability Statistics and Cost Burdens
Affordability statistics compare the price of defined service baskets with income, rather than reporting a universal monthly price. The global median mobile-broadband basket, defined as the cheapest data-only basket with 2 GB and 3G-or-better service, fell from 1.3% of GNI per capita in 2023 to 1.1% in 2024.
The global median fixed-broadband basket, defined as the cheapest fixed basket with 5 GB and 256 kbit/s, fell from 2.8% to 2.5% of GNI per capita over the same period. The Broadband Commission affordability target is broadband costing less than 2% of monthly GNI per capita.
Income comparisons remained stark in 2024:
- A lower-middle-income subscriber paid about six times as much of income for mobile broadband as a high-income subscriber.
- A low-income subscriber paid about 19 times as much of income for mobile broadband as a high-income subscriber.
- Fixed broadband cost nearly one-third of average monthly income in a low-income country, where fixed broadband was available.
- Of 208 economies with data, 140 met the affordability target for at least one basket.
- Only 65 low- and middle-income economies met the target for at least one basket, which the ITU reports as around one-half of that group.
The figures are observed ITU basket-price comparisons. Meeting the target for either basket is sufficient for the economy-level count. ITU, Facts and Figures 2024 – Affordability of ICT services
Internet Traffic, Mobile Devices and Digital Skills
Traffic measures show how heavily connections were used. Worldwide mobile-broadband traffic reached 1 zettabyte in 2023 and nearly 1.3 zettabytes in 2024, while fixed-broadband traffic rose from 5.1 zettabytes in 2023 to nearly 6 zettabytes in 2024.
From 2021 onward, mobile traffic grew by 19.6% annually on average, compared with 15.2% for fixed traffic. Average monthly mobile traffic in 2024 was 16.2 GB per subscription in high-income countries, versus 2 GB in low-income countries; Africa recorded 3.1 GB, compared with a 13.9 GB world average.
| Device or skill measure | Population and period | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Mobile-phone ownership | Age 10+, world, 2024 | Four out of five |
| Mobile-phone ownership | Age 10+, low-income economies, 2024 | 56% |
| Mobile-phone ownership | Age 10+, high-income economies, 2024 | Over 95% |
| Basic digital skills | EU residents aged 16–74, 2025 | 60.4% |
In Africa, 66% of people aged 10 or older owned a mobile phone in 2024, while 38% used the Internet. Ownership is therefore not equivalent to Internet use. ITU, Facts and Figures 2024 – Internet traffic and ITU, Facts and figures 2024 – Mobile phone ownership
Every country reporting communication skills in the 2020–2024 submissions had more than 80% of Internet users with at least basic skills. Only reporting countries are included in that observation.
Separately, 60.4% of EU residents aged 16–74 had at least basic digital skills in 2025; the Eurostat measure is a composite indicator covering five competence areas. ITU, Facts and Figures 2024 – ICT skills and Eurostat, Digital society statistics at regional level
European Union Household Internet Access and Online Activities
Eurostat’s 2024 ICT survey found that 93% of EU residents aged 16–74 had used the Internet in the previous three months, up from 86% in 2019. The activity measures below use the same age population and three-month reference period.
| Online activity | EU residents aged 16–74, 2024 |
|---|---|
| Calls, video calls or instant messaging | 85% |
| 80% | |
| Finding information about goods and services | 75% |
| Watching television or videos | 73% |
| Internet banking | 67% |
The results show that access translated into a broad set of communication, information, entertainment and financial activities, but the percentages describe activity participation rather than frequency or quality of service. Eurostat, People online in 2024
In 2025, 89.5% of EU residents aged 16–74 reported daily Internet use, 1.2 percentage points above 2024. Eurostat defines daily use here as use during the three months preceding the survey, and notes a break in series for the longer historical comparison. Eurostat, Digital society statistics at regional level