A New Report Reveals How Many People Use The Internet

The new Digital 2026 report from Meltwater and We Are Social says over 6 billion people now use the internet. That is around 73.2% of the world’s population. Kepios studied data from the International Telecommunication Union and GSMA Intelligence and found that 294 million people went online over the past year, which is a 5.1% rise in global users.

India and China have the largest share of users…

The NSO in India confirmed that 70% of people aged 15 and above are now connected, which means India is past a billion internet users.

In China, the China Internet Network Information Centre said 91.6% of citizens are online, equal to nearly 1.3 billion people. Together, these two countries make up for more than a third of the world’s connected population.

Currently, 2.21 billion people still have no internet access, though. The largest offline populations are in Southern Asia and Central Africa. India has about 440 million people offline, Pakistan about 140 million and Nigeria around 130 million. North Korea stays the least connected country, where fewer than 1% of citizens can access the internet.

Is Social Media Taking Over Online Life?

Social media use has reached record levels. The report shows 5.66 billion user identities across platforms, equal to 68.7% of the world’s population. That means there are now two social media users for every person who isn’t on these platforms. About 259 million new users joined in the past year making it a 4.8% increase.

People spend about two and a half hours a day on social and video platforms. The main reasons are keeping in touch with friends and family and filling spare time. Women aged 16 to 24 spend the most time on these apps, which is around 3 hours and 40 minutes daily.

Data from Similarweb shows YouTube has the highest number of active app users with nearly 50% more than TikTok. But TikTok users spend more time per day on the app, averaging 1 hour and 37 minutes on Android devices.

How Are People Finding Brands Online?

Younger people tend to find products through social media ads. The Digital 2026 report shows that 34.2% of those aged 16 to 24 and 32.1% of those aged 25 to 34 discover brands this way. Among people aged 35 to 44, social media is the second most common way to find brands, after search engines.

Advertisers are having to increase their spend as a way to keep up. This can be seen online with the more ads we are seeing, and global digital ad spending is expected to reach $1.16 trillion in 2025. Online ads will account for about 74.4% of that, and social media advertising alone is expected to reach $277 billion and it was 13.6% last year.

What Does AI Contribute To Internet Use?

More than a billion people now use AI tools every month. OpenAI’s chief executive said in October that ChatGPT had around 800 million weekly users.

Fewer people are using traditional search engines. According to GWI, 80% of adults online used them each month, down from previous years. Many now turn to AI chat tools or personalised recommendation systems for answers.

Alexandra Bjertnæs, Chief Strategy Officer at Meltwater: “We’re seeing a profound shift in how people discover brands, with more people turning to social media and AI platforms than ever before. Among younger audiences, social media ads now carry more weight than traditional search in shaping awareness and perception, while the rise of GenAI, now used by more than a billion people each month, is transforming how people find and trust information.

“For marketers and communicators, this is an exciting opportunity to build strategies that connect with audiences in new ways and meet them where they are today.”

Around half of adults online say they feel positive about AI’s role in their daily internet use. AI tools are changing how people search, communicate and consume online content.

Who Is Still Left Out?

Even though internet access keeps growing, there are some who fall behind. Kepios found that 70.7% of women are online compared with 75.7% of men.

To give an actual figure to this stat, that difference means about 240 million more men do not have access than women. Its similar on social platforms, where 54.4% of users are men and 45.6% are women.

Rural areas are also not quite there with only 54.5% of rural residents having internet access, compared with 86.5% of those in cities. In countries such as Ethiopia, South Sudan and Chad, lack of reliable power and water supply also limits connection.

On affordability… in the Central African Republic, mobile data costs about 26.7% of an average monthly income. In Venezuela, it is over 20%. Many people in those countries depend on free WiFi, which restricts consistent access.

Which Devices Are Most Common?

Almost everyone goes online through a mobile phone as GWI reports that 96% of internet users use phones to connect. Computer use has gone from 62.9% in 2023 to 59.6%. Statcounter says mobile phones now account for 59.14% of all web traffic, while computers make up 39.28%.

Wearable technology is becoming more popular right now because GWI found that 33% of adults own a smartwatch or fitness tracker, whereas it was 31.6% last year. The highest ownership rates are among people aged 25 to 44. Croatia, the UAE and Norway lead in this category.

Toby Southgate, Global Group CEO at We Are Social said: “This year’s report confirms the game keeps changing, creating both huge opportunities and a new challenge for marketers. A ‘supermajority’ of the world is now active on social media – this is where brands win or lose.

“That means we have moved from a race for reach to a battle for relevance. Success in this new landscape will be defined by a deep, cultural understanding of platforms and behaviours, and the ability to earn attention with ideas that are truly worth talking about.”