Key figures (as of 30 October 2026)
| World share using the internet, 2026 (first published 2026) | 76%, about 6.3 billion people |
| People offline, 2026 | about 2 billion |
| High-income and low-income countries, 2026 | 93% and 32% |
| Africa, 2026 | 42% |
| World share, 2025 (first published, report of 17 November 2025) | 74%, about 6 billion people; about 2.2 billion offline |
| World share, 2024 (first published November 2024) | 68%, about 5.5 billion people; later revised to 71% |
| World share, 2023 (first published 2023) | 67%, about 5.4 billion people; later revised to 65% |
| Published precision | whole percent |
Three-quarters of the world online
The agency's 2026 estimate puts internet use above three-quarters of the world's population, at 76%. That corresponds to about 6.3 billion people. About 2 billion people remain offline.
The gap between rich and poor countries is still wide. In 2026, 93% of people in high-income countries use the internet, against 32% in low-income countries. In Africa the share is 42%.
The pace of growth has been steady. On the Centre's own calculation, the first-published world share for 2026 is 2 percentage points above the first-published share for 2025, and 9 points above the first-published share for 2023.
First estimates and later revisions
The agency's annual estimate is a modelled figure built from national data. When countries submit new or revised data, the agency recalculates earlier years. These revisions can go in either direction.
The 2023 share was first published at 67% in 2023. A year later, the 2024 edition showed 65% for 2023, a downward revision of 2 percentage points on the Centre's own calculation.
The 2024 share was first published at 68%, about 5.5 billion people, in November 2024. The 2025 edition showed 71% for 2024. That is an upward revision of 3 percentage points on the Centre's own calculation.
The 2025 share was first published at 74%, about 6 billion people, with the report of 17 November 2025.
Revisions matter for this forecast because each new edition starts from a revised base. The gain within each edition, from the revised figure for the year before to the new year, was 3 percentage points in both the 2024 and 2025 editions, on the Centre's own calculation. Measured between first-published figures, the gains were 1 point for 2024, 6 points for 2025 and 2 points for 2026, also on the Centre's own calculation. The 6-point jump for 2025 includes the 3-point upward revision to 2024.
When the estimate is published
The first estimate for a year comes out late in that same year. In recent years it was published in 2023, November 2024, November 2025 and, for 2026, by late October. The date of the 2027 edition has not been announced.
What it means
The world is close to having three in four people online, but about 2 billion people are still offline. On the Centre's estimates, the combined weight on a first-published 2027 share of 78% or more is 70%, and the combined weight on 79% or more is 35%. The combined weight on a share below 78% is 30%.
Scenarios: the world share using the internet in 2027
These probabilities are the Centre's analytical estimates, reasoned from the figures above. Because the bands are ordered, the forecast is scored with both the multi-category Brier score and the ranked probability score.
The variable is the share of the world's population using the internet in 2027, in percent, as first published by the UN specialised agency for telecommunications in its annual global estimate. The estimate is usually released between September and November of the year it covers, so the 2027 figure is expected in late 2027. Only the first-published figure counts: later revisions, including any in the 2028 edition, do not change the result. The published precision is a whole percent. If the agency publishes the figure with decimals, it is rounded half up once to a whole percent, so 77.5% counts as 78%. The bands are half-open intervals and each edge falls in the higher band: exactly 77% falls in band 2, exactly 78% in band 3, exactly 79% in band 4 and exactly 80% in band 5.
If no 2027 world figure is published by 30 June 2028, the study resolves on the 2027 world value in the agency's online statistics database as shown on 1 July 2028, rounded the same way. If the agency replaces the series or changes its method, the study resolves on the successor world estimate of the share of the population using the internet for 2027, as first published. If neither the annual estimate nor the database value for 2027 is available by 31 December 2028, the study is withdrawn.
Little or no change: below 77%
This band needs a first-published 2027 share no higher than 76%, so no gain on the first-published 2026 figure, on the Centre's own calculation. It would follow if growth stalls or if a downward revision lowers the base, as happened to 2023. The pace in recent editions points the other way, so the weight is low.
Slow gain: 77% to below 78%
This band holds a gain of 1 percentage point on the 2026 figure, on the Centre's own calculation. That matches the smallest recent step between first-published figures, for 2024. It would follow if growth slows. The weight is solid.
Recent pace: 78% to below 79%
This band holds a gain of 2 percentage points, the same as the latest step from 74% for 2025 to 76% for 2026, on the Centre's own calculation. It is the most likely band.
Faster gain: 79% to below 80%
This band holds a gain of 3 percentage points, the same as the gain within each of the 2024 and 2025 editions, on the Centre's own calculation. It would follow if the pace of those editions returns, or if an upward revision lifts the 2026 base. The weight is solid.
Strong gain: 80% or more
This band needs a gain of 4 percentage points or more, on the Centre's own calculation. It would most likely need an upward revision of earlier years, such as the 3-point revision to 2024, on top of normal growth. Such a jump happened for 2025, so the band keeps some weight, but it is low. Why band 3 carries the most weight. On the Centre's own calculation, the first-published share rose by an average of 3 percentage points a year from 2023 to 2026, but that average is lifted by the upward revision to 2024. The latest step, for 2026, was 2 points, smaller than the 3-point gains within the two previous editions. The direction is a gradual slowing as the share nears the high-income level, with revisions able to move the figure either way. The weights are therefore centred on a gain of 2 points, with somewhat more weight above than below.
What to watch
- Annual global estimate for 2027: the agency's first world share for 2027, expected between September and November 2027 on recent timing. This resolves the study.
- Revisions to earlier years: any change to the 2026 figure in the 2027 edition shifts the starting point.
- Low-income countries and Africa: the groups with the lowest shares online.
- Agency statistics database: updates to country and world values between editions.
Figures as of 30 October 2026. Probabilities are analytical estimates by the Ghaf Centre for Studies & Research.