50+ Internet Statistics: Users, Websites & Traffic (2026)
There were 6.12 billion internet users worldwide in April 2026 (73.8% of the global population), Netcraft counted 1.49 billion websites in July 2026, and bots generated 53% of all web traffic in 2025. With the average internet user spending more than 33 hours a week consuming online media, digital channels taking about three-quarters of the $1.16 trillion spent on advertising, and 5G covering 55% of the world’s population, the internet continues to reshape every aspect of modern life. Here are 50+ internet statistics covering global users, website data, mobile trends, social media, infrastructure, and the digital economy for 2026.
Key Internet Statistics (2026)
- 6.12 billion internet users (73.8% of world population) in April 2026 (DataReportal)
- 1.49 billion websites across 305 million domains in July 2026 (Netcraft)
- 5.79 billion social media user identities (DataReportal)
- Average time consuming online media: 33h 13m per week (DataReportal)
- Mobile: 59% of web traffic in September 2026 (StatCounter)
- Digital ad spend: about $860 billion in 2025, 74.4% of all ad spend (Statista via DataReportal)
- Bot traffic: 53% of all web traffic in 2025 (Imperva)
Global Internet Users
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Internet users worldwide (April 2026) | 6.12 billion | DataReportal |
| Internet penetration | 73.8% of world population | DataReportal |
| New users in the past 12 months (reported) | 59 million (+1.0%) | DataReportal |
| People offline (2025) | 2.2 billion | ITU |
| Average time consuming online media | 33h 13m per week | DataReportal |
| Internet use in high-income countries (2025) | 94% | ITU |
| Internet use in low-income countries (2025) | 23% | ITU |
| China: internet users | almost 1.3 billion | DataReportal (CNNIC data) |
- 6.12 billion people were online at the start of April 2026 — 73.8% of the world’s population, according to DataReportal
- The digital divide persists: 94% of people in high-income countries use the internet versus 23% in low-income countries, Africa sits at 36%, and 2.2 billion people remain offline (ITU, 2025)
- The average internet user spends 33 hours 13 minutes a week consuming online media, about 4 hours 45 minutes a day, though simultaneous use of different media may overstate actual time online
- China leads in absolute users with almost 1.3 billion after CNNIC revised its figures, followed by India with more than 1 billion
- Reported growth is slowing: DataReportal counts 59 million new users in the 12 months to April 2026 (+1.0%), though it notes reporting delays understate real growth
Website Statistics
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Total websites (July 2026) | 1.49 billion | Netcraft |
| Unique domains with websites | 305 million | Netcraft |
| .com and .net registrations (Q2 2026) | 179.1 million | Verisign |
| WordPress market share | 40.2% of all websites | W3Techs |
| Websites using HTTPS by default | 90.1% | W3Techs |
- Netcraft’s July 2026 survey counted 1.49 billion websites across 305 million unique domains — many of them parked domains, expired sites, or placeholder pages
- .com remains the dominant TLD: Verisign reported 179.1 million .com and .net registrations at the end of Q2 2026, up 5.1% in a year
- WordPress powers 40.2% of all websites globally (W3Techs, October 2026), making it the dominant web publishing platform by an enormous margin
- HTTPS is now the default protocol on 90.1% of websites
- For detailed platform data, see our how many websites are there and CMS market share analyses
Mobile Internet Statistics
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Mobile share of web traffic (Sept 2026) | 59% | StatCounter |
| Internet users who go online via mobile phone | 96.2% | DataReportal |
| Unique mobile phone users (April 2026) | 5.83 billion (70.4%) | DataReportal |
| Smartphones in use | 7.64 billion | DataReportal |
| 5G subscriptions worldwide (June 2026) | ~3.3 billion | Ericsson |
| 5G population coverage (2025) | 55% | ITU |
| Mobile broadband traffic per subscription (2025) | 15.3 GB/month | ITU |
- Mobile accounted for 59% of all web traffic in September 2026, and 96.2% of internet users go online with a mobile phone at least some of the time
- There are 5.83 billion unique mobile phone users — 70.4% of the world’s population — and 7.64 billion smartphones in use
- Mobile broadband traffic averaged 15.3 GB per subscription per month in 2025, from 2.2 GB in low-income countries to 17.9 GB in high-income countries
- 5G covered 55% of the world’s population in 2025, and 5G subscriptions are close to 3.3 billion, enabling faster mobile web experiences
Social Media Usage Statistics
| Platform | Reported Ad Reach (April 2026) | Measure |
|---|---|---|
| YouTube | 2.65 billion | Ad reach (largest) |
| 2.39 billion | Ad reach | |
| TikTok | 2.21 billion | Ad reach |
| 1.99 billion | Ad reach | |
| 1.43 billion | Registered members |
- There are 5.79 billion social media user identities — 69.9% of the world’s population — and 94.7% of internet users use social media every month
- The average user visits 6.5 different social platforms each month and spends 18 hours 36 minutes a week on social media, about 2 hours 39 minutes a day
- YouTube has the largest social ad audience at 2.65 billion, about 10% more than the 2.39 billion Meta reports for Facebook ads
- TikTok ranks third by ad reach at 2.21 billion, ahead of Instagram at 1.99 billion
- Organic social drove only about 5% of trackable website traffic in BrightEdge‘s research — organic search (53%) remains far more important for web publishers
Internet Infrastructure Statistics
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Bot traffic share (2025) | 53% | Imperva |
| Bad bot traffic (2025) | 40% of all traffic | Imperva |
| 5G population coverage (2025) | 55% | ITU |
| IPv6 adoption (Google users, Aug 2026) | 46-51% | Google IPv6 Stats |
| Websites using a reverse proxy/CDN | 30.8% (Cloudflare: 26.3%) | W3Techs |
| Global median download speed (Aug 2026) | 129.7 Mbps fixed / 109.1 Mbps mobile | Ookla Speedtest |
| Submarine cables | 600+ active and planned | TeleGeography |
- 53% of all web traffic came from bots in 2025, with bad bots (scrapers, spam, attacks) accounting for 40% — human traffic has fallen to 47%
- Global median download speeds reached 129.7 Mbps on fixed broadband and 109.1 Mbps on mobile in Ookla’s August 2026 index
- About half of Google’s users (46-51% in late August 2026) reach Google over IPv6, driven largely by mobile carriers
- The internet relies on 600+ active and planned submarine cables, with over 1.5 million kilometers in service — a single cable cut can disrupt entire regions
- 30.8% of all websites use a reverse proxy or CDN service (Cloudflare, Amazon CloudFront, Fastly), and Cloudflare alone is used by 26.3% of all websites
Internet Economy Statistics
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Global ad spend (2025) | $1.16 trillion | Statista via DataReportal |
| Digital share of ad spend (2025) | 74.4% (~$860 billion) | Statista via DataReportal |
| Search ad spend (2025) | $352 billion | Statista via DataReportal |
| Online consumer goods spending (2025) | $3.66 trillion | Statista via DataReportal |
| Google advertising revenue (2025) | $294.7 billion | Alphabet IR |
| Meta advertising revenue (2025) | $196.2 billion | Meta IR |
- Digital channels took 74.4% of the $1.16 trillion spent on advertising worldwide in 2025 — roughly $860 billion — and Google ($294.7B) and Meta ($196.2B) captured more than half of that
- Ecommerce users were projected to spend $3.66 trillion on online consumer goods in 2025, up 13% from 2024
- Search remains the largest single ad category at a projected $352 billion in 2025 — just under $1 billion a day
- For how these trends affect web publishing, see our digital marketing statistics and CMS market share reports
Key Takeaways
- The internet has reached 6.12 billion users. At 73.8% global penetration (April 2026), the internet is approaching saturation in developed markets while growth continues in Africa, South Asia, and Southeast Asia.
- Many websites are inactive. Netcraft counts 1.49 billion websites across 305 million domains, and many of them are parked, expired, or placeholder pages.
- Mobile dominates the internet. At 59% of traffic, 5.83 billion unique mobile users, and 96.2% of internet users going online by phone, any digital strategy must be mobile-first.
- More than half of web traffic is bots. At 53% in 2025, bot traffic (including 40% bad bots) means website analytics, server resources, and security strategies must account for non-human traffic.
- The internet economy is massive. Roughly $860 billion in digital advertising and $3.66 trillion in online consumer goods spending in 2025 — the internet is not just a technology, it’s the backbone of the global economy.
- Infrastructure is rapidly upgrading. 5G covering 55% of the population, IPv6 at about half of Google traffic, 129.7 Mbps median fixed speeds, and 600+ submarine cables are enabling faster, more reliable internet experiences worldwide.
Sources
- DataReportal — Global Digital Overview
- Netcraft — Web Server Survey (July 2026)
- DataReportal — Digital 2026 Global Overview Report
- StatCounter — Platform & Browser Market Share
- Imperva — 2026 Bad Bot Report
- Ericsson — Mobility Report (June 2026)
- ITU — Facts and Figures 2025
- Verisign — Q2 2026 Results
- W3Techs — Web Technology Surveys
Frequently Asked Questions
How many people use the internet in 2026?
There were 6.12 billion internet users worldwide at the start of April 2026, 73.8% of the world’s population, according to DataReportal. China has almost 1.3 billion users and India more than 1 billion. However, about 2.2 billion people remain offline, most of them in Southern Asia and Africa.
How many websites are there?
Netcraft’s July 2026 survey counted 1.49 billion websites across 305 million unique domains, but many of them are parked, expired, or placeholder pages. WordPress powers 40.2% of all websites (W3Techs, October 2026). For the complete breakdown, see our how many websites are there analysis.
What percentage of internet traffic is mobile?
Mobile devices accounted for 59% of global web traffic in September 2026 (StatCounter), and 96.2% of internet users go online with a mobile phone at least some of the time. There are 5.83 billion unique mobile phone users. 5G covered 55% of the world’s population in 2025, and mobile broadband traffic averaged 15.3 GB per subscription per month.
How much of internet traffic is bots?
According to Imperva’s 2026 Bad Bot Report, bots generated 53% of all web traffic in 2025, up from 51% in 2024. Bad bot traffic (scrapers, spam bots, credential stuffing, DDoS) made up 40% of all traffic, leaving roughly 13% for good bots such as search engine crawlers and monitoring tools. This means more than half of all requests hitting websites are not from real human users, which has significant implications for analytics, server costs, and security planning. For related security data, see our digital marketing statistics report.
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