Tuesday, 29 July 2008

China Accommodates Maximum Number of Netizens

China has surpassed the United States, as they now have the largest Internet population at 253 million. The largest country in terms of population is now also world's largest Internet population.

The China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC) compiled the numbers that indicate China now has 253 million total Web surfers, with the United States coming in at an estimated 223 million users. China has a total population of more than 1.3 billion people, compared to the United States' 301 million.

Internet usage in China is up 56 percent from just one year ago, with online music, instant messaging and news updates the three most popular applications. Furthermore, Chinese users under the age of 30 make up nearly 69 percent of the country's Internet users.

According to the report, nearly 23.8 million Internet users use online payment services, up 71.7 percent from half a year ago; 28.9 percent of Internet users have used their mobile phones to go online within the last six months; and mobile Internet users now number more than 73 million.

However, China has only 19 percent of its population enjoying Internet access, far off from the United States' 71 percent and the global average of 21 percent.