TOP 10 Countries by Share of Population Using the Internet (2025)
Top Countries by Share of Population Using the Internet (2025)
The share of the population using the Internet is the most widely used benchmark of digital inclusion. Compiled annually by the International Telecommunication Union, it counts every individual who accessed the Internet in the past three months, via any device or connection type. In 2025, the ITU estimates that 6 billion people — roughly 74% of the global population — are online, up from 71% in 2024. Yet 2.2 billion people remain offline, and meaningful divides persist across income groups, regions, age cohorts and rural-urban geographies.
This ranking uses the latest ITU values available for 2024–2025. At the top are Gulf states, Northern European countries and small high-income economies that have reached saturation-level connectivity, with rates at or near 100%. The global average of 74% still masks a wide gap between high-income countries at 94% and low-income countries at 23%.
Top 10 economies at the frontier of Internet adoption
Three Gulf Cooperation Council states — Bahrain, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia — report 100% Internet penetration in the latest ITU data, reflecting sustained investment in broadband infrastructure and a young, urban, technology-oriented population. They are joined by Nordic and micro-European economies where decades of broadband policy, digital public services and high incomes have driven nearly complete household connectivity. All ten economies in the top tier exceed 98%.
Bahrain has achieved full population coverage in the latest ITU data. A compact geography, high urbanisation, a competitive telecoms market and state-backed digital policy have helped push connectivity to the statistical ceiling.
Kuwait shares the top position with full reported coverage. High income levels, strong mobile broadband rollout and broad device access have supported saturation-level adoption across the population.
Saudi Arabia completes the three-way tie at 100%. Large-scale telecom investment under Vision 2030 has expanded both fixed and mobile connectivity across a much larger population base than most top-ranking peers.
Denmark combines near-universal broadband access with one of the most mature digital-service ecosystems in Europe. Its ranking reflects both household connectivity and deep integration of online public services.
Luxembourg benefits from very high income levels, dense infrastructure and a service economy that relies heavily on digital systems. That mix keeps adoption near the top of the global distribution.
Monaco's tiny territory, dense urban form and premium telecom infrastructure make near-total connectivity comparatively easy to achieve and maintain.
Norway remains one of the strongest examples of broad digital inclusion, with high-quality infrastructure and long-term policy efforts to connect remote communities as well as major cities.
Liechtenstein combines very high income levels with a compact geography and close integration into the surrounding European digital infrastructure network.
Iceland has sustained near-universal access through high household broadband penetration, strong public investment and a digitally engaged population even outside its main urban centres.
Qatar rounds out the top 10 with a rate comfortably above the high-income-country average. Its combination of telecom investment, urban concentration and strong device penetration supports very broad access.
Table 1. Top 10 countries by share of population using the Internet (2025)
| Rank | Country | Internet users (% of population) | Region |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bahrain | 100.0% | MENA |
| 1 | Kuwait | 100.0% | MENA |
| 1 | Saudi Arabia | 100.0% | MENA |
| 4 | Denmark | 99.8% | Europe |
| 5 | Luxembourg | 99.1% | Europe |
| 6 | Monaco | 99.0% | Europe |
| 6 | Norway | 99.0% | Europe |
| 8 | Liechtenstein | 98.3% | Europe |
| 9 | Iceland | 98.2% | Europe |
| 10 | Qatar | 98.1% | MENA |
Source: ITU “Individuals using the Internet” indicator, 2024–2025. Values are ranked by the most recent ITU data point available for each economy, with ties sharing the same rank.
Extended ranking and how the next tier is distributed
Outside the top 10, the ranking broadens into a wider group of highly connected economies across Europe, Asia-Pacific and the Gulf. South Korea, Malaysia, Australia, Belgium and Hong Kong SAR all sit in the mid-to-high 90s, showing that the frontier is no longer limited to one region. The gap between this group and the global average remains large, especially when compared with lower-income and more rural countries.
Table 2. Countries with the highest Internet penetration (latest ITU values)
Global total Internet users in 2025: approximately 6,000 million.
| Rank | Country | Internet users (% of population) |
Population (M, approx.) | Region |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bahrain | 100.0% | 1.5 | MENA |
| 1 | Kuwait | 100.0% | 4.9 | MENA |
| 1 | Saudi Arabia | 100.0% | 36.9 | MENA |
| 4 | Denmark | 99.8% | 5.9 | Europe |
| 5 | Luxembourg | 99.1% | 0.7 | Europe |
| 6 | Monaco | 99.0% | 0.04 | Europe |
| 6 | Norway | 99.0% | 5.5 | Europe |
| 8 | Liechtenstein | 98.3% | 0.04 | Europe |
| 9 | Iceland | 98.2% | 0.4 | Europe |
| 10 | Qatar | 98.1% | 2.7 | MENA |
| 11 | Malaysia | 98.0% | 33.6 | Asia-Pacific |
| 12 | South Korea | 97.9% | 51.7 | Asia-Pacific |
| 13 | San Marino | 97.4% | 0.03 | Europe |
| 14 | Ireland | 97.2% | 5.1 | Europe |
| 15 | Netherlands | 97.0% | 17.9 | Europe |
| 16 | Brunei | 96.3% | 0.45 | Asia-Pacific |
| 17 | Australia | 96.1% | 26.5 | Asia-Pacific |
| 18 | Belgium | 95.8% | 11.7 | Europe |
| 18 | Hong Kong SAR | 95.8% | 7.5 | Asia-Pacific |
| 20 | Jordan | 95.6% | 10.4 | MENA |
| 21 | Chile | 95.6% | 19.6 | Americas |
| 22 | Singapore | 94.4% | 5.8 | Asia-Pacific |
| 22 | Canada | 94.4% | 38.8 | Americas |
| 22 | Russia | 94.4% | 144.9 | CIS |
| 25 | Malta | 93.9% | 0.53 | Europe |
| 26 | Hungary | 93.8% | 9.7 | Europe |
| 27 | Finland | 93.7% | 5.6 | Europe |
| 28 | New Zealand | 93.5% | 5.1 | Asia-Pacific |
| 28 | Germany | 93.5% | 83.2 | Europe |
| 30 | Kazakhstan | 93.4% | 19.1 | CIS |
Source: ITU DataHub and World Bank indicator IT.NET.USER.ZS. Population values are approximate and are used only to express each country’s rough share of the global online population.
Chart 1. Internet penetration rate — Top countries versus the world average
The chart compares the top-ranked countries with the world average of 74%.
Methodology: how the ranking is built
Indicator definition
The indicator measures the share of a country’s population that accessed the Internet during the preceding three months, regardless of device or location. It captures broad access rather than connection quality, speed or depth of use.
Data collection
The International Telecommunication Union collects the series through national regulators, statistical offices and harmonised survey reporting. The same series is also published by the World Bank under indicator code IT.NET.USER.ZS.
Reference year
This page uses the most recent ITU value available for each country, mainly from 2024 and 2025 releases. The purpose is to reflect the latest comparable picture rather than force all economies into a single reporting year.
Limits of interpretation
The ranking is useful, but it has clear limits:
- It measures access, not connection quality or affordability.
- Minor differences in national survey timing and method can remain even after ITU harmonisation.
- A reported value of 100% should be read as saturation-level coverage rather than a literal every-person count.
- High penetration does not automatically imply strong digital skills, advanced e-government or meaningful connectivity.
What the ranking shows
The Gulf now sits alongside the Nordics on the access metric
Bahrain, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia at 100% underline how strongly the Gulf has closed the pure access gap with long-established digital leaders. The difference today is less about whether people are online and more about service quality, institutional depth and digital capability once connected.
Europe still dominates the saturation tier
Denmark, Luxembourg, Norway, Iceland and other small or high-income European economies continue to cluster near the top. Their advantage is not only broadband coverage but the maturity of public digital infrastructure and household-level adoption.
The world average still hides a deep structural gap
The global average of 74% looks strong until it is compared with 94% in high-income countries and 23% in low-income countries. That gap is one of the clearest indicators that digital inclusion is still tightly linked to income, infrastructure and geography.
What this means for readers
Here is the practical reading of the ranking:
- Above 90% usually means the access problem is largely solved and the next challenge is quality, affordability and meaningful use.
- Between 60% and 90% usually signals an active catch-up phase with uneven coverage by region, age or income.
- Well below 50% usually points to deeper structural barriers such as affordability, electricity access, rural infrastructure or low device ownership.
FAQ
Primary sources
All figures are based on official international datasets. Values are rounded for readability.
-
ITU — Facts and Figures 2025Main source for the 2025 global and regional context.
ITU Facts and Figures 2025 -
ITU DataHub — Individuals using the InternetCanonical country-level series used for the ranking.
ITU DataHub indicator -
World Bank — IT.NET.USER.ZSRepublished ITU series used for cross-checking and historical context.
World Bank indicator IT.NET.USER.ZS -
ITU — Facts and Figures 2024Baseline source for year-over-year context.
ITU Facts and Figures 2024
Last data review: April 2026.
