Top 15 Countries by Internet Audience with unique visitors and global share of Internet users for December 2008:

According to latest “Global Internet audience” data released by comscore, 41% of the global Internet users are from Asia-pacific region.

Here is the region-wise breakdown of Internet traffic in Dec 2008:

Asia Pacific 416.28 million 41.3%
Europe 282.65 million 28.0%
North America 185.11 million 18.4%
Latin America 74.91 million 7.4%
Middle East & Africa 48.78 million 4.8%

The above figures used for ranking are only home and office Internet users. The Internet traffic from public computers like Internet cafes and mobile phones is not counted in this report!

I believe countries like China and India are having more Internet users from public computers like cafes, as still in these regions personal or home computers are not reached to most of the users, and they regularly use Internet from cafes.

In most of the European and North-Latin American countries the internet audience is reached to its maximum limit and there is very low scope for drastic increase in internet users, whereas in Asian countries, its just a start now and many people and cities are now getting connected by internet and hence big scope to increase Internet audience!!

Here is the list of Top 15 Countries by Internet Audience with unique visitors and global share of Internet users for Dec 2008:

China: 179.71 million 17.8%
United States: 163.3 million 16.2%
Japan: 59.99 million 6.0%
Germany: 36.99 million 3.7%
United Kingdom: 36.66 million 3.6%
France: 34.01 million 3.4%
India: 32.09 million 3.2%
Russia: 28.99 million 2.9%
Brazil: 27.68 million 2.7%
South Korea: 27.25 million 2.7%
Canada: 21.81 million 2.2%
Italy: 20.78 million 2.1%
Spain: 17.89 million 1.8%
Mexico: 12.48 million 1.2%
Netherlands: 11.81 million 1.2%

Surely in future Asia is going to play a big role and will be the center for most of the Internet dependent business decisions.

Internet Connection Speed: The Top 10 Countries

Internet Connection Speed: The Top 10 Countries

April 8th, 2009

At the end of 2008, approximately 19 per cent Internet connections around the world were at speeds greater than 5 Mbps — a 21 per cent increase over the average global connection speed at the end of 2007.

This is according to the State of the Internet report, a quarterly study by Akamai Technologies, the US-based Internet content distribution giant. The State of the Internet report tracks average connection speeds for countries around the world.

Check out the top 10 nations in terms of average Internet connection speed.

1. South Korea

South Korea rules supreme when it comes to Internet connection speed and broadband connectivity. It is the world’s No.1 with average connection speed of 15 Mbps, ten times the global average!

During 2008, South Korea’s rate of quarterly change appeared to be locked into a cyclical pattern, with quarterly decreases being recorded in the first and third quarters, and increases seen in the second and fourth quarters.

For the whole year, South Korea saw a modest 7 per cent rise in their levels of high broadband adoption. South Korea is also ranked first in terms of high broadband connectivity with 69 per cent connections above 5 Mpbs.

2. Japan

Japan ranks 2nd in terms of Internet connection and high broadband connectivity. Japan ranks 2nd in terms of high broadband connectivity. About 54 per cent of the connections in Japan are above 7 Mbps.

3. Hong Kong

Hong Kong ranks third with an Internet connection speed of 6.9 Mbps. The country ranks fifth in terms of high broadband connectivity with 38 per cent of the connection above 5 Mbps.

4. Romania

Romania is at the fourth position with a Internet connection speed of 5.7 Mbps. The country ranks third in terms of high broadband connectivity with 45% of the connection above 5 Mbps.

5. Sweden

Sweden is at the fifth position with a Internet connection speed of 5.6 Mbps. Sweden ranks fourth in terms of high broadband connectivity with 39 per cent of the connection above 5Mbps.

6. Switzerland

Switzerland has bagged the sixth position with an Internet connection speed of over 5 Mbps. The country however does not figure in the top ten list of countries with high broadband connectivity.

7. Netherlands

Netherlands ranks 7th with an Internet connection speed of 4.9 Mbps. The country ranks 7th in terms of high broadband connectivity with 28 per cent of the connections above 5 Mbps.

8. Belgium

Belgium is at the 8th position with an Internet connection speed of 4.7 Mbps. The country ranks sixth in terms of high broadband connectivity with 31 per cent of the connection above 5 Mbps.

9. Slovakia

Slovakia bags the ninth position with an Internet connection speed of 4.5 Mbps. The country does not figure among the top ten in terms of high broadband connectivity.

10. Norway

Norway ranks tenth with an Internet connection speed of 4.5 Mbps. The country ranks fifth in terms of high broadband connectivity with 38 per cent of the connection above 5 Mbps.

United States is at the 17th position with an Internet connection speed of 3.9 Mbps, up approximately 8 per cent from the average connection speed for the first quarter of 2008.

In terms of Internet connection speed, China is way behind leading economies with an average Internet connection speed of 833 kbps.

India has been ranked at a dismal 115th among 223 countries in terms of average Internet connection speeds. India has an average Internet connection speed of just 772 Kbps compared with the global average of 1.5 Mbps.