More than 6 billion people are now online as global internet access reaches new high

Main points

• More than 6 billion people use the internet
• Global internet penetration reached about 73%
• Around 2.2 billion people remain offline

More than 6 billion people worldwide now use the internet, marking a dramatic transformation from the early 1990s, when fewer than one in 1,000 people were online.

DataReportal's Digital 2026 Global Overview Report estimated that 6.04 billion people were using the internet by October 2025, equivalent to 73.2% of the world's population. The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) separately estimated internet use at about 74% in 2025, or roughly 6 billion people. DataReportal – Global Digital Insights

The growth has been rapid. DataReportal estimates that the global internet population has doubled in less than 11 years after passing 3 billion in 2014. When the first website appeared in 1991, only about 5 million people worldwide were using the internet. DataReportal – Global Digital Insights

Half the world was online by the late 2010s

The infographic shows global penetration crossing the halfway mark in 2018, at 50.8%. While historical estimates can change as organisations revise their datasets, the broader trend is clear: internet use moved from a small minority of the world's population in the 1990s to a majority within three decades.

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Growth has continued since then. DataReportal says reported user numbers increased by 294 million, or 5.1%, over the 12 months to October 2025. However, it cautions that a significant part of that increase came from revisions to official estimates for countries including India, rather than hundreds of millions of people suddenly gaining access during the year. DataReportal – Global Digital Insights

Billions are still offline

The milestone also hides a large digital divide. Both DataReportal and the ITU estimate that about 2.2 billion people remained offline in 2025. DataReportal – Global Digital Insights

The divide is particularly sharp between richer and poorer economies. ITU data show that 94% of people in high-income countries used the internet in 2025, compared with only 23% in low-income countries. Regionally, internet use reached about 92% in Europe and 88% in the Americas, but only 36% in Africa. ITU

Location also matters. Around 85% of urban residents were online compared with 58% of people in rural areas. Young people were more connected too, with 82% of 15- to 24-year-olds using the internet compared with 72% of the rest of the population. ITU

The challenge is therefore shifting from simply expanding network coverage to making internet access affordable, reliable and useful. More than 96% of the world's population is already covered by a mobile broadband network, according to the ITU, but gaps in cost, devices, digital skills and connection quality continue to keep millions from fully benefiting from that infrastructure.