Question: How Big is the Internet?
Answer: Although it is impossible to know exactly, there are several benchmark indicators for estimating the size of the Internet.
Preface: There are several companies who attempt to measure the Internet's usage: ClickZ, Cyberatlas.internet.com, Statmarket.com, Nielsen Ratings, Office of the CIA, Mediametrix.com, comScore.com, eMarketer.com, Serverwatch.com, Securityspace.com, and the Computer Industry Almanac. These groups use custom techniques of polling, electronic tallying of server traffic, web server logging, focus group sampling, and other measurement means.
Here is a collection of their statistical measurements:
I) Total Internet Human Usage By Country of Residence
1. 922 million to 1032 million: the estimated number of unique individuals who will use the Internet in 2006, all countries combined.
2. 202 million: the estimated number of American residents who will use the Internet in 2006.
3. 46.3 million: the estimated number of United Kingdom residents who will use the Internet in 2006.
4. 22.2 million: the estimated number of Russian residents who will use the Internet in 2006.
5. 61 million: the estimated number of Japanese residents who will use the Internet in 2006.
6. 51.6 million: the estimated number of German residents who will use the Internet in 2006.
7. 24.6 million: the estimated number of Canadian residents who will use the Internet in 2006.
8. 101.8 million: the estimated number of Chinese residents who will use the Internet in 2006.
II) Internet Usage in One Month, by Country, Oct 2005:
1. Australia: 9.8 million
2. Brazil: 14.4 million
3. Switzerland 3.9 million
4. Germany 29.8 million
5. Spain 10.1 million
6. France 19.6 million
7. Hong Kong 3.2 million
8. Italy 18.8 million
9. Netherlands 8.3 million
10. Sweden 5.0 million
11. United Kingdom 22.7 million
12. United States 180.5 million
13. Japan 32.3 million
III) Additional Statistical References:
1. Cyberatlas/ClickZ compilation of statistical country surveys.
2. Google's Cultural Zeitgeist Profile of 2005.
IV) Conclusion:
Regardless of the accuracy of these statistics, it is safe to conclude that the Internet is a daily tool for millions of people worldwide. The World Wide Web, the most popular part of the Internet, started in 1989 with 50 people sharing web pages. Today, at least 500 million people use the Web every week as part of their lives. More countries outside of North America are going online, and there is no stoppage of growth in the forseeable future.
Might as well get used to the Internet, everyone. Almost one billion other people are planning to.
Back to Netforbeginners home
