Number of internet users in EU countries December 2021

As of December 2021, Germany had the highest number of internet users among all European Union (EU) countries. This stood at over 79.1 million, roughly 95 percent of the entire population. The second highest figure was seen in France. Meanwhile, there were nearly 390 thousand internet users in Malta, making it the country with the lowest number of internet users in the European Union (EU).

Internet access in the EU

Over the past decade the share of households with access to the internet in the European Union (EU) has grown to reach 91 percent in 2020 . This was over a 30 percent increase from 2008, when just 59 percent of all EU households had internet access. As a whole, internet usage in Europe continues to rise with mobile internet in particular having seen substantial year-on-year growth since its infancy a decade ago. This growth is expected to continue, with 83 percent of Europeans forecast to have mobile internet access by 2025.

Internet use worldwide

In 2021, the highest percentage of internet usage worldwide was among the Europeans. Meanwhile, the Philippines ranked first in the daily time spent online, an average of 10 hours and 23 minutes. Thanks to the boom in mobile internet, worldwide spending on both the Google Play and Apple App Store is also forecast to increase each year. Overall, spending on the App Store is expected to be more than double that on Google Play by 2026.