Internet and social media statistics cover a wide range of quantitative and qualitative data. Analysing this data allows us to better understand the world of social communication and anticipate new trends. A selection of quantitative data, taken from the latest April 2024 report, published at www.wearesocial.com, will be presented below.
There are 8,1 billion people on the globe, of which 5,44 billion use the internet (69,7% of the population) and 5,07 billion use social media (62,6% of the population). Around 2,66 billion people remain offline. By comparison, in 2014 there were 7,3 billion people living in the world, 2,74 billion using Internet and 1,92 using social media.
The countries with the lowest median age: Niger (14,6), Central African Republic (14,9), Chad (15,2), Somalia (15,3), Mali (15,3), Democratic Republic of the Congo (15,6), Burundi (16,2), Angola (16,4), Uganda (16,4). In comparison, some countries with the highest median age: Monaco (54,1), Japan (49,4), Italy (48), Hong Kong (46,2), Portugal (46). The median age worldwide is 30,7 years.
The countries with the highest number of people without Internet access: North Korea (not accessible to ordinary citizens), Central African Republic (89,4%), Burundi (88,7%), South Sudan (87,9%), Niger (83,1%), Yemen (82,3%), Afghanistan (81,6%), Ethiopia (80,6%), Burkina Faso (80,1%), Madagascar (79,4%).
Median Internet connection speed (megabits per second): mobile Internet (51,16 – download; 11,37 – upload), fixed Internet (92,26 – download; 44,65 – upload).
Countries with the fastest median Internet download speed via mobile connections (megabits per second): Qatar (286,42), United Arab Emirates (284,21), Kuwait (216,96), South Korea (173,95), Denmark (157,94), China (144,85), Norway (141,40), Netherlands (134,15), Saudi Arabia (125,19), United States of America (122,74).
Countries with the slowest median Internet download speed via mobile connections (megabits per second): Belarus (11,86), Venezuela (11,43), Bolivia (9,92), Yemen (8,87), Haiti (8,38), Tajikistan (8,14), Sudan (7,50), Afghanistan (5,07), Cuba (3,84), Timor-Leste (3,34).
Countries with the fastest median Internet download speed via fixed connections (megabits per second): Singapore (286,66), Chile (272,01), Hong Kong (270,72), United Arab Emirates (257,14), United States of America (242,38), France (240,36), China (238,17), Monaco (236,00), Thailand (226,36), Denmark (225,81).
Countries with the slowest median Internet download speed via fixed connections (megabits per second): Botswana (8,29), Turkmenistan (7,53), Yemen (7,38), Niger (6,16), Burundi (5,80), Gambia (5,51), Timor-Leste (4,81), Syria (3,71), Afghanistan (3,03), Cuba (2,55).
The main reasons for using the Internet: finding information (60,3%), staying in touch with friends and family (56,8%), watching videos, TV shows and movies (52,3%), keeping up to date with news and events (50,8%), researching how to do things (48,5%).
Main reasons for using social media: keeping in touch with friends and family (49,7%), filling spare time (38,0%), reading news stories (34,3%), finding content, e.g. articles, videos (30.0%), seeing what’s being talked about (28,8%), finding products to purchase (26,8%), finding inspiration for things to do and buy (26,4%), watching live streams (23,1%).
The world’s most used social platforms (in millions): Facebook (3,065), YouTube (2,504), Instagram (2,000), WhatsApp (2,000), TikTok (1,582).
Devices used to access the Internet: mobile phone (96,3%), laptop or desktop (62,2%).
Monthly cellular data consumed by the average smartphone worldwide: 26,2 GB.
Average daily time spent using social media: 2h 20 min.
The full report can be found here.
"We invite you to attend the conference on communication to be held from 1 to 7 August 2024 in Rome," is the exhortation coming from the Sector for Social Communication.
In view of the conference, the Facebook page and Instagram profile of 'Shaping Tomorrow' are already active.
