INTERNET GROWTH STATISTICS

INTERNET GROWTH STATISTICS
Today's road to e-Commerce and Global Trade
Internet Technology Reports

The Internet is defined as the worldwide interconnection of individual networks operated by government, industry, academia, and private parties. Originally the Internet served to interconnect laboratories engaged in government research, and since 1994 it has been expanded to serve millions of users and a multitude of purposes in all parts of the world.

In a matter of very few years, the Internet consolidated itself as a very powerful platform that has changed forever the way we do business, and the way we communicate. The Internet, as no other communication medium, has given an International or, if you prefer, a "Globalized" dimension to the world. Internet has become the Universal source of information for millions of people, at home, at school, and at work.

Internet is changing all the time. Two things, in our opinion, have marked it's evolution recently: the social web and mobile technology. These two innovations have changed the way people use the Internet. In the social web people have found a new way to communicate. Since its creation in 2004, Facebook has grown into a worldwide network of over 1,679 million subscribers. Mobile technology, on the other hand, has made possible a much greater reach of the Internet, increasing the number of Internet users everywhere.

The Internet continues to be the most democratic of all the mass media. With a very low investment, anyone can have a web page in Internet. This way, almost any business can reach a very large market, directly, fast and economically, no matter the size or location of the business. With a very low investment, almost anybody that can read and write can have access and a presence in the World Wide Web. Blogging has consolidated the social media and the people everywhere are expressing and publishing their ideas and opinions like never before.

History and Growth of the Internet from 1945 to 1995

Before getting into the numbers, let's take a look at the
fascinating history of the Internet, from 1945 to 1995, by
courtesy of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C).
History and Growth of the Internet from 1995 till Today

Today the Internet continues to grow day by day making
McLuhan's Global Village a reality. The following table
shows the incredibly fast evolution of the Internet from
1995 till the present time:

DATE	NUMBER OF USERS	% WORLD POPULATION	INFORMATION SOURCE
December, 1995	16 millions	0.4 %	IDC
December, 1996	36 millions	0.9 %	IDC
December, 1997	70 millions	1.7 %	IDC
December, 1998	147 millions	3.6 %	C.I. Almanac
December, 1999	248 millions	4.1 %	Nua Ltd.
March, 2000	304 millions	5.0 %	Nua Ltd.
July, 2000	359 millions	5.9 %	Nua Ltd.
December, 2000	361 millions	5.8 %	Internet World Stats
March, 2001	458 millions	7.6 %	Nua Ltd.
June, 2001	479 millions	7.9 %	Nua Ltd.
August, 2001	513 millions	8.6 %	Nua Ltd.
April, 2002	558 millions	8.6 %	Internet World Stats
July, 2002	569 millions	9.1 %	Internet World Stats
September, 2002	587 millions	9.4 %	Internet World Stats
March, 2003	608 millions	9.7 %	Internet World Stats
September, 2003	677 millions	10.6 %	Internet World Stats
October, 2003	682 millions	10.7 %	Internet World Stats
December, 2003	719 millions	11.1 %	Internet World Stats
February, 2004	745 millions	11.5 %	Internet World Stats
May, 2004	757 millions	11.7 %	Internet World Stats
October, 2004	812 millions	12.7 %	Internet World Stats
December, 2004	817 millions	12.7 %	Internet World Stats
March, 2005	888 millions	13.9 %	Internet World Stats
June, 2005	938 millions	14.6 %	Internet World Stats
September, 2005	957 millions	14.9 %	Internet World Stats
November, 2005	972 millions	15.2 %	Internet World Stats
December, 2005	1,018 millions	15.7 %	Internet World Stats
March, 2006	1,023 millions	15.7 %	Internet World Stats
June, 2006	1,043 millions	16.0 %	Internet World Stats
Sept, 2006	1,086 millions	16.7 %	Internet World Stats
Dec, 2006	1,093 millions	16.7 %	Internet World Stats
Mar, 2007	1,129 millions	17.2 %	Internet World Stats
June, 2007	1,173 millions	17.8 %	Internet World Stats
Sept, 2007	1,245 millions	18.9 %	Internet World Stats
Dec, 2007	1,319 millions	20.0 %	Internet World Stats
Mar, 2008	1,407 millions	21.1 %	Internet World Stats
June, 2008	1,463 millions	21.9 %	Internet World Stats
Sept, 2008	1,504 millions	22.5 %	Internet World Stats
Dec, 2008	1,574 millions	23.5 %	Internet World Stats
Mar, 2009	1,596 millions	23.8 %	Internet World Stats
June, 2009	1,669 millions	24.7 %	Internet World Stats
Sept, 2009	1,734 millions	25.6 %	Internet World Stats
Dec, 2009	1,802 millions	26.6 %	Internet World Stats
June, 2010	1,966 millions	28.7 %	Internet World Stats
Sept, 2010	1,971 millions	28.8 %	Internet World Stats
Mar, 2011	2,095 millions	30.2 %	Internet World Stats
Jun, 2011	2,110 millions	30.4 %	Internet World Stats
Sept, 2011	2,180 millions	31.5 %	Internet World Stats
Dec, 2011	2,267 millions	32.7 %	Internet World Stats
Mar, 2012	2,336 millions	33.3 %	Internet World Stats
June, 2012	2,405 millions	34.3 %	Internet World Stats
Sept, 2012	2,439 millions	34.8 %	Internet World Stats
Dec, 2012	2,497 millions	35.7 %	I.T.U.
Dec, 2013	2,802 millions	39.0 %	Internet World Stats
June, 2014	3,035 millions	42.3 %	Internet World Stats
Dec, 2014	3,079 millions	42.4 %	Internet World Stats
June, 2015	3,270 millions	45.0 %	Internet World Stats
Dec, 2015	3,366 millions	46.4 %	Internet World Stats
Jun. 2016	3,631 millions	49.5 %	Internet World Stats
Dec. 2016	3,696 millions	49.5 %	Internet World Stats
Mar. 2017	3,732 millions	49.6 %	Internet World Stats