Internet growth statistics
Today's road to eCommerce and global trade And the " Global Village " became a Reality
Internet has made real what in the 1970's that visionary of the communications Marshall McLuhan (1911-1980) called the "Global Village". In a matter of very few years, the Internet has consolidated itself as a very powerful platform that has changed the way we do business, and the way we communicate. The Internet, as no other communication medium, has given an International or, if you prefer, a "Globalized" dimension to the world. Internet has become the Universal source of information for millions of people, at home, at school, and at work. Internet is actually the most democratic of all the mass media. With a very low investment, anyone can have a web page in Internet. This way, almost any business can reach a very large market, directly, fast and economically, no matter the size or location of the business. With a very low investment, almost anybody that can read and write can have access to the World Wide Web.
“When I took office, only high energy physicists had ever heard of what is called the World Wide Web... Now even my cat has it's own page.”
- Bill Clinton
History and Growth of the Internet Before getting into the numbers, let's take a look at the fascinating history of the Internet, from 1945 to 1995, by courtesy of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). Today the Internet continues to grow day by day making McLuhan's Global Village a reality. The following table shows the incredibly fast evolution of the Internet from 1995 till the present time:
DATE December, 1995 December, 1996 December, 1997 December, NUMBER OF USERS 16 millions 36 millions 70 millions 147 millions % WORLD POPULATION INFORMATION SOURCE
0.4 % IDC 0.9 % IDC 1.7 % IDC 3.6 % C.I. Almanac
1998 December, 1999 March, 2000 July, 2000 December, 2000 March, 2001 June, 2001 August, 2001 April, 2002 July, 2002 September, 2002 March, 2003 September, 2003 October, 2003 December, 2003 February, 2004 May, 2004 October, 2004 December, 2004 March, 2005 June, 2005 September, 2005 November, 2005 December, 2005 March, 2006 June, 2006 248 millions 304 millions 359 millions 361 millions 458 millions 479 millions 513 millions 558 millions 569 millions 587 millions 608 millions 677 millions 682 millions 719 millions 745 millions 757 millions 812 millions 817 millions 888 millions 938 millions 957 millions 972 millions 1,018 millions 1,023 millions 1,043 millions 4.1 % Nua Ltd. 5.0 % Nua Ltd. 5.9 % Nua Ltd. 5.8 % Internet World Stats
7.6 % Nua Ltd. 7.9 % Nua Ltd. 8.6 % Nua Ltd. 8.6 % 9.1 % 9.4 % 9.7 % 10.6 % 10.7 % 11.1 % 11.5 % 11.7 % 12.7 % 12.7 % 13.9 % 14.6 % 14.9 % 15.2 % 15.7 % 15.7 % 16.0 % Internet World Stats Internet World Stats Internet World Stats Internet World Stats Internet World Stats Internet World Stats Internet World Stats Internet World Stats Internet World Stats Internet World Stats Internet World Stats Internet World Stats Internet World Stats Internet World Stats Internet World Stats Internet World Stats Internet World Stats Internet World Stats
Sept, 2006 Dec, 2006 Mar, 2007 June, 2007 Sept, 2007 Dec, 2007 Mar, 2008 June, 2008 Sept, 2008 Dec, 2008 Mar, 2009 June, 2009
1,086 millions 1,093 millions 1,129 millions 1,173 millions 1,245 millions 1,319 millions 1,407 millions 1,463 millions 1,504 millions 1,574 millions 1,596 millions 1,661 millions
16.7 % 16.7 % 17.2 % 17.8 % 18.9 % 20.0 % 21.1 % 21.9 % 22.5 % 23.5 % 23.8 % 24.5 %
Internet World Stats Internet World Stats Internet World Stats Internet World Stats Internet World Stats Internet World Stats Internet World Stats Internet World Stats Internet World Stats Internet World Stats Internet World Stats Internet World Stats
http://www.internetworldstats.com/emarketing.htm