Internet Users by Country 2023: Full Rankings & 33-Year Trends

Key takeaways

Bahrain leads 2023 at 100.0% of population, followed by Saudi Arabia at 100.0% and United Arab Emirates at 100.0%.
1 of 1990's top ten countries remain in the top ten in 2023: Norway.
Among 2023's top ten, Bahrain recorded the largest climb, rising from 20th in 1990 to 1st in 2023.
Inside the current top 20, Saudi Arabia gained the most since 2000, rising from 86th to 1st at 100.0%.
The global median internet penetration rose from 0.0% in 1990 to 82.0% in 2023.
179 countries reported values in 1990, against 181 in 2023.

1 of 1990's top ten countries remain in the top ten

Rank position, 1990 → 2023 · top 12 countries of 2023 · 1990 axis breaks below rank 20

Internet penetration is the least stable ranking in this library. Only 1 of 1990's top ten remain in 2023's top ten: Norway. By contrast, the <a href="/data/population-by-country" class="text-brand hover:text-brand-dark underline underline-offset-2">population ranking</a> retains seven, and <a href="/data/gdp-by-country" class="text-brand hover:text-brand-dark underline underline-offset-2">total GDP</a> retains nine. The near-complete turnover reflects the speed at which mobile broadband closed the gap between early-adopting and late-adopting countries in under two decades.

The global median rose from 0.0% in 1990 to 82.0% in 2023. Several countries that now report 100% penetration ranked below the median as recently as 2000, illustrating how rapidly the floor has risen.

In the top ten both years Climbed 10+ places All other countries Rankings computed among all countries with data for each year

Bahrain rose from 20th in 1990 to 1st in 2023

Bahrain ranked 20th in 1990 and 1st in 2023. The countries at the top of the internet ranking overlap substantially with the leaders in <a href="/data/gdp-per-capita-by-country" class="text-brand hover:text-brand-dark underline underline-offset-2">GDP per capita</a> and <a href="/data/life-expectancy-by-country" class="text-brand hover:text-brand-dark underline underline-offset-2">life expectancy</a>: Luxembourg, for example, ranks 3rd here, 1st in GDP per capita, and 18th in life expectancy.

Inside the current top 20, the largest gain since 2000 belongs to Saudi Arabia, which moved from 86th in 2000 to 1st at 100.0% of population.

Full rankings: internet users by country, 2023

Trajectory shows each country's annual series indexed to its own 1990–2023 range

181 economies Arrows show rank change since 2013.

Rank▲	Country⇅	Internet Users by Country, 2023⇅
1 ▲9	Bahrain BHR	100.0
1 ▲55	Saudi Arabia SAU	100.0
1 ▲12	United Arab Emirates ARE	100.0
2 ▲27	Kuwait KWT	99.7
3 ▲4	Luxembourg LUX	99.3
4 ▼2	Norway NOR	99.0
5 ▲46	Brunei Darussalam BRN	99.0
6 ▲3	Monaco MCO	98.9
7 ▼3	Denmark DNK	98.8
8 ▲8	Qatar QAT	98.2
9 ▼3	Liechtenstein LIE	98.1
10 ▼9	Iceland ISL	97.9
11 ▲52	Malaysia MYS	97.7
12 ▲5	Korea, Rep. KOR	97.4
13 ▲1	Switzerland CHE	97.3
14	San Marino SMR	97.3
15 ▼10	Netherlands NLD	97.0
16 ▲11	Ireland IRL	96.9
17 ▲3	Australia AUS	96.1
18 ▲13	Hong Kong SAR, China HKG	96.0
19 ▼16	Sweden SWE	95.7
20 ▼9	United Kingdom GBR	95.4
21 ▲17	Spain ESP	95.4
22 ▲3	Austria AUT	95.3
23 ▲23	Oman OMN	95.3
24 ▼2	Belgium BEL	94.6
25 ▲36	Chile CHL	94.5
26 ▼2	Singapore SGP	94.3
27 ▼9	Andorra AND	94.2
28 ▼13	Canada CAN	94.1
29 ▲10	United States USA	93.5
30 ▼22	Finland FIN	93.5
31 ▼10	New Zealand NZL	93.3
32 ▼6	Estonia EST	93.2
33 ▲20	Kazakhstan KAZ	92.9
34 ▲55	Jordan JOR	92.5
35 ▼16	Germany DEU	92.5
36	Bahamas, The BHS	92.4
37 ▲7	Russian Federation RUS	92.2
38 ▼8	Latvia LVA	92.2
39 ▲3	Malta MLT	92.1
40 ▲26	Belarus BLR	91.5
41 ▼6	Hungary HUN	91.5
42 ▲6	Cyprus CYP	91.2
43 ▲73	Kyrgyz Republic KGZ	91.0
44 ▲20	Morocco MAR	91.0
45 ▲17	Uruguay URY	90.9
46 ▲36	China CHN	90.6
47 ▼13	Slovenia SVN	90.4
48 ▲70	Bhutan BTN	90.0
49 ▼2	Macao SAR, China MAC	89.8
50 ▲60	Thailand THA	89.5
51 ▲47	Jamaica JAM	89.5
52 ▲6	Argentina ARG	89.2
53 ▲21	Romania ROU	89.2
54 ▲59	Uzbekistan UZB	89.0
55 ▼22	Azerbaijan AZE	89.0
56 ▲1	Montenegro MNE	88.6
57 ▼14	Lithuania LTU	88.5
58 ▼9	North Macedonia MKD	88.5
59 ▲78	Kiribati KIR	88.0
60 ▲37	Suriname SUR	87.4
61 ▼33	Slovak Republic SVK	87.2
62 ▼21	Israel ISR	87.0
63 ▼3	Italy ITA	87.0
64 ▼41	France FRA	86.8
65 ▲12	West Bank and Gaza PSE	86.6
66 ▼12	Poland POL	86.4
67 ▲14	Dominican Republic DOM	86.1
68 ▲5	Seychelles SYC	86.0
69 ▼37	Czechia CZE	86.0
70 ▲9	Turkiye TUR	86.0
71 ▼16	Portugal PRT	85.8
72 ▲8	Costa Rica CRI	85.4
73 ▼6	Serbia SRB	85.4
74 ▼15	Greece GRC	85.0
75 ▼63	Japan JPN	85.0
76 ▲7	Maldives MDV	84.6
77 ▼6	Brazil BRA	84.2
78 ▲44	Mongolia MNG	83.7
79 ▲29	Iran, Islamic Rep. IRN	83.7
80 ▼4	Bosnia and Herzegovina BIH	83.4
81 ▼36	Croatia HRV	83.2
82 ▼13	Albania ALB	83.1
83	Naoero NRU	83.0
84	Palau PLW	82.9
85 ▲38	Libya LBY	82.1
86 ▼28	Trinidad and Tobago TTO	82.0
87	Georgia GEO	81.9
88 ▲53	Iraq IRQ	81.8
89 ▼49	Lebanon LBN	81.7
90	Ukraine UKR	81.6
91 ▼19	Dominica DMA	81.3
92 ▼6	Mexico MEX	81.2
93 ▼25	Bulgaria BGR	80.4
94 ▼6	Armenia ARM	80.0
95 ▼3	Mauritius MUS	79.5
96 ▼3	Peru PER	79.5
97 ▲9	Guyana GUY	79.4
98 ▼20	South Africa ZAF	78.3
99 ▲1	Paraguay PRY	78.1
100 ▼6	Viet Nam VNM	78.1
101 ▲4	Philippines PHL	77.9
102 ▼32	Colombia COL	77.3
103 ▼4	Bolivia BOL	77.3
104 ▼54	St. Kitts and Nevis KNA	76.6
105 ▼9	Moldova MDA	76.5
106 ▼41	Venezuela, RB VEN	76.3
107 ▲10	Algeria DZA	76.2
108 ▼23	St. Vincent and the Grenadines VCT	75.5
109 ▼14	Cabo Verde CPV	74.6
110 ▼9	Fiji FJI	74.1
111 ▼2	Egypt, Arab Rep. EGY	74.0
112 ▼21	Ecuador ECU	72.7
113 ▼61	Antigua and Barbuda ATG	72.1
114 ▲13	Ghana GHA	70.7
115 ▼12	Belize BLZ	70.2
116 ▼79	Barbados BRB	69.7
117 ▼6	Cuba CUB	69.6
118 ▼16	Grenada GRD	69.4
119 ▲9	Indonesia IDN	69.2
120 ▲28	Cambodia KHM	68.9
121 ▼37	Panama PAN	68.5
122 ▼15	Gabon GAB	68.2
123 ▼48	St. Lucia LCA	67.4
124 ▲10	Djibouti DJI	64.8
125 ▲10	Lao PDR LAO	64.4
126 ▼22	Tonga TON	64.1
127 ▲2	Marshall Islands MHL	64.1
128 ▲2	Namibia NAM	63.7
129 ▼5	Equatorial Guinea GNQ	63.5
130 ▼15	El Salvador SLV	62.6
131 ▼17	Eswatini SWZ	61.3
132 ▼6	Nicaragua NIC	60.3
133 ▲3	India IND	60.3
134 ▼2	Senegal SEN	59.2
135 ▼19	Sao Tome and Principe STP	58.7
136 ▼15	Honduras HND	58.1
137 ▼18	Guatemala GTM	56.7
138 ▼13	Tajikistan TJK	54.4
139	Sri Lanka LKA	51.2
140 ▼13	Lesotho LSO	49.0
141 ▼12	Gambia, The GMB	48.7
142 ▼4	Haiti HTI	48.0
143 ▼12	Nepal NPL	45.8
144 ▲3	Mauritania MRT	45.0
145 ▼1	Bangladesh BGD	44.5
146 ▼1	Congo, Rep. COG	43.2
147 ▼7	Cameroon CMR	42.2
148 ▼3	Cote d'Ivoire CIV	40.7
149 ▼29	Nigeria NGA	40.1
150 ▼38	Micronesia, Fed. Sts. FSM	39.4
151 ▼25	Zimbabwe ZWE	38.7
152 ▼19	Angola AGO	37.9
153 ▲4	Togo TGO	37.6
154 ▲6	Mali MLI	36.0
155 ▼1	Benin BEN	32.4
156 ▲1	Guinea GIN	32.3
157 ▼24	Kenya KEN	32.1
158 ▼12	Comoros COM	31.9
159 ▲2	Liberia LBR	31.2
160 ▼18	Rwanda RWA	28.8
161 ▲1	Guinea-Bissau GNB	28.7
162 ▼19	Solomon Islands SLB	28.7
163 ▼5	Tanzania TZA	28.4
164 ▲2	Somalia, Fed. Rep. SOM	26.1
165 ▼12	Burkina Faso BFA	25.4
166 ▼7	Sierra Leone SLE	23.7
167 ▼11	Ethiopia ETH	20.3
168 ▼18	Mozambique MOZ	19.9
169 ▼4	Congo, Dem. Rep. COD	19.0
170 ▼19	Papua New Guinea PNG	18.6
171 ▼8	Madagascar MDG	18.2
172 ▼20	Malawi MWI	18.0
173 ▼18	Zambia ZMB	16.5
174 ▼25	Afghanistan AFG	15.9
175 ▼11	Central African Republic CAF	13.8
176 ▼8	Niger NER	13.0
177 ▼13	Chad TCD	12.0
178 ▼27	Uganda UGA	9.3
179 ▼12	Burundi BDI	7.2

Frequently asked questions

Which country has the highest internet penetration in 2023?

Bahrain leads at 100.0% of population, followed by Saudi Arabia at 100.0% and United Arab Emirates at 100.0%.

What is the global median internet penetration?

The median across all 181 countries rose from 0.0% in 1990 to 82.0% in 2023.

Which country gained the most in the rankings since 2000?

Inside the current top 20, Saudi Arabia gained the most, rising from 86th in 2000 to 1st at 100.0% of population.

How is internet use measured?

The World Bank defines internet users as individuals who have used the internet from any location in the last three months, via any device including mobile phones, tablets, personal computers, and gaming consoles.

How often is this data updated?

The World Bank publishes updated estimates annually. This page is rebuilt from the latest release, retrieved July 2026.

Methodology & Fair Use

Data runs to 2023, the most recent year published by World Bank World Development Indicators.

Figures are individuals using the internet as a percentage of population, as published in the World Bank World Development Indicators (indicator IT.NET.USER.ZS), retrieved July 2026. Rankings are computed among all countries with reported data for each year; countries with no reported value in a given year are excluded from that year's ranking. Trajectory sparklines index each country's series to its own 1990–2023 range and are not comparable in level across rows.

This dataset is published by Ranking Atlas and may be cited or reproduced with attribution and a link to this page.

Data licence. Source: World Bank World Development Indicators. Licensed under CC BY 4.0. Retrieved July 2026.

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Internet Users by Country, 1990–2023

Key takeaways

1 of 1990's top ten countries remain in the top ten

Bahrain rose from 20th in 1990 to 1st in 2023

Full rankings: internet users by country, 2023

Frequently asked questions

Methodology & Fair Use

Cite this page

Related datasets

Population by Country, 1960–2025

GDP Per Capita by Country, 1960–2025

Life Expectancy by Country, 1960–2024