More Than Three Billion People Worldwide Now Have Broadband

Mike Moore,

We Are Social report shows 20 percent increase in broadband Internet users throughout 2014

The world around us is becoming more connected than ever before, as over a third of the population now has access to broadband internet connections, a survey has found.

Data from Singapore-based company We Are Social found that 3.010 billion people can now get online using broadband – around 42 percent of the world’s population, with the figure set to pass through the 50 percent level early in 2015.

Overall, 2014 saw a 20 percent increase in the number of people across the world connected to broadband, the study found.

A mobile phone shop in Choma village Zambia © Sam DCruz ShutterstockConnected

In the USA and Western Europe, more than 80 percent of the population can access broadband, with connections in South America and Eastern Europe recorded between 50 percent and 60 percent.

However, only 19 percent of South Asia (which includes India and Pakistan) had a broadband connection, and only 26 percent in Africa, marking both as key future growth markets.

The report also found that the worldwide penetration of mobile phones passed 50 percent in September, with users increasingly using their devices to get online.

In terms of the total web pages services to mobile devices, the global average is now 33 percent of all pages. Nigeria tops the league at 76 percent, followed by India at 72 percent.

Mobile broadband connections, both 3G and 4G, rose significantly across the world, as the average broadband speed rose from 3.8MBps in 2013 to 4.5MBps this year.

Coverage hit 89 percent penetration in the UK, with India coming at the bottom of the list for mobile broadband coverage, with just 8 percent of the population having access to an active connection.

Worldwide connectivity is only set to increase over the next few years, as more and more people reap the benefits the Internet brings. Last week, satellite company Inmarsat announced it would be launching its second network satellite on February 1 in a bid to expand Internet connectivity across the world.

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