What is the population of the Internet?
By Davey Winder in Editorial
It’s an interesting question, and while it might sometimes seem like everyone and their dog has Internet access, according to a new report from IDC the actual figure is about 1.4 billion people around the world. The Digital Marketplace Model and Forecast suggests that something in the order of a quarter of the total population of the planet will use the Internet on a regular basis this year. Within four years IDC expects to see another half a billion people added to that number, bringing 30 percent of the global population online by 2012.
The report reckons that China has already overtaken the United States to take the title of the current largest Internet populating country, something it managed during 2007. In fact, the report says, China has seen its online population grow to an astonishing 275 million users this year and it is predicted to reach 375 million by 2012.
The report also says that the United States will lead the world when it comes to the total amount of online advertising spending, while Central and Eastern Europe together with the Middle East and Africa will experience the fastest growth as far as Internet advertising spending is concerned. More than USD $5 billion will be spent worldwide in 2008, IDC says, in each of the top four categories of online adverts: adult content and gambling, information, electronics, and computing. What’s more, these will continue to be the leading advertising categories through to 2011.
Quoted in a PC World article, IDC Chief Research Officer John Gantz predicts that “the Internet will have added its second billion users over a span of about eight years.”
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