Data report
North America leads on internet use at 95.6%, but on mobile subscriptions the ranking turns upside down
The World Bank puts internet use at 95.6% of the population in North America and 92.4% in Europe in 2025, against a world average of 73.6%. Fixed broadband tells a similar story. Mobile subscriptions do not: Asia-Pacific leads there at 135.1 per 100 people while North America sits at 112.0, because the regions that came late to fixed lines never built them.
Tomasz WierzbickiData & Market Research
Elena Marchetti
Niels AbrahamsenKey takeaways
6 findings- 0195.6% of people in North America use the internet, the highest of any region.
- 02The world average is 73.6%, so roughly 26% of humanity is still offline.
- 03The spread between the highest and the lowest region is 59.9 percentage points.
- 04On fixed broadband the leader is North America at 40.0 subscriptions per 100 people.
- 05On mobile subscriptions the order inverts: Asia-Pacific leads at 135.1 per 100 and North America is fourth at 112.0.
- 06Asia-Pacific, Europe and Latin America all pass 100 mobile subscriptions per 100 people, which counts second devices and second SIMs rather than universal coverage.
Who is online, by region
Data points 1–9- 01
North America: 95.6% of the population used the internet in 2025. (World Bank, 2025)Verified
- 02
Europe: 92.4% of the population used the internet in 2025. (World Bank, 2025)Verified
- 03
Asia-Pacific: 88.4% of the population used the internet in 2025. (World Bank, 2025)Verified
- 04
Latin America: 83.7% of the population used the internet in 2025. (World Bank, 2025)Verified
- 05
South Asia: 67.8% of the population used the internet in 2025. (World Bank, 2025)Verified
- 06
The Middle East and North Africa: 63.7% of the population used the internet in 2025. (World Bank, 2025)Verified
- 07
Sub-Saharan Africa: 35.7% of the population used the internet in 2025. (World Bank, 2025)Verified
- 08
The world average is 73.6% in 2025. (World Bank, 2025)Verified
- 09
The distance between North America and Sub-Saharan Africa is 59.9 percentage points. (World Bank, 2025)Verified
Fixed broadband, where the infrastructure shows
Data points 10–17- 10
North America: 40.0 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people in 2025. (World Bank, 2025)Verified
- 11
Asia-Pacific: 36.5 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people in 2025. (World Bank, 2025)Verified
- 12
Europe: 34.5 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people in 2025. (World Bank, 2025)Verified
- 13
Latin America: 20.5 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people in 2025. (World Bank, 2025)Verified
- 14
The Middle East and North Africa: 9.7 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people in 2025. (World Bank, 2025)Verified
- 15
South Asia: 4.3 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people in 2025. (World Bank, 2025)Verified
- 16
Sub-Saharan Africa: 1.1 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people in 2025. (World Bank, 2025)Verified
- 17
North America has 36 times the fixed broadband penetration of Sub-Saharan Africa, a wider gap than on internet use itself. (World Bank, 2025)Verified
Mobile subscriptions invert the ranking
Data points 18–25- 18
Asia-Pacific: 135.1 mobile subscriptions per 100 people in 2025. (World Bank, 2025)Verified
- 19
Europe: 134.6 mobile subscriptions per 100 people in 2025. (World Bank, 2025)Verified
- 20
Latin America: 116.8 mobile subscriptions per 100 people in 2025. (World Bank, 2025)Verified
- 21
North America: 112.0 mobile subscriptions per 100 people in 2025. (World Bank, 2025)Verified
- 22
The Middle East and North Africa: 107.1 mobile subscriptions per 100 people in 2025. (World Bank, 2025)Verified
- 23
Sub-Saharan Africa: 90.4 mobile subscriptions per 100 people in 2025. (World Bank, 2025)Verified
- 24
South Asia: 81.7 mobile subscriptions per 100 people in 2025. (World Bank, 2025)Verified
- 25
Asia-Pacific leads on mobile while ranking third on internet use, which is what leapfrogging looks like in a statistic. (World Bank, 2025)Directional
How far each region moved since 2010
Data points 26–32- 26
North America went from 72.5% of the population online in 2010 to 95.6% in 2025, a rise of 23.1 points. (World Bank, 2025)Verified
- 27
Europe went from 57.0% of the population online in 2010 to 92.4% in 2025, a rise of 35.4 points. (World Bank, 2025)Verified
- 28
Asia-Pacific went from 34.2% of the population online in 2010 to 88.4% in 2025, a rise of 54.2 points. (World Bank, 2025)Verified
- 29
South Asia went from 7.1% of the population online in 2010 to 67.8% in 2025, a rise of 60.7 points. (World Bank, 2025)Verified
- 30
Latin America went from 34.6% of the population online in 2010 to 83.7% in 2025, a rise of 49.1 points. (World Bank, 2025)Verified
- 31
The Middle East and North Africa went from 18.3% of the population online in 2010 to 63.7% in 2025, a rise of 45.4 points. (World Bank, 2025)Verified
- 32
Sub-Saharan Africa went from 6.0% of the population online in 2010 to 35.7% in 2025, a rise of 29.7 points. (World Bank, 2025)Verified
The countries at the top
Data points 33–42- 33
Bahrain: 100.0% of the population online in 2024. (World Bank, 2025)Verified
- 34
Kuwait: 100.0% of the population online in 2025. (World Bank, 2025)Verified
- 35
Saudi Arabia: 100.0% of the population online in 2024. (World Bank, 2025)Verified
- 36
United Arab Emirates: 100.0% of the population online in 2024. (World Bank, 2025)Verified
- 37
Denmark: 99.8% of the population online in 2024. (World Bank, 2025)Verified
- 38
Luxembourg: 99.1% of the population online in 2025. (World Bank, 2025)Verified
- 39
Monaco: 99.0% of the population online in 2024. (World Bank, 2025)Verified
- 40
Norway: 99.0% of the population online in 2024. (World Bank, 2025)Verified
- 41
Liechtenstein: 98.3% of the population online in 2024. (World Bank, 2025)Verified
- 42
Iceland: 98.2% of the population online in 2024. (World Bank, 2025)Verified
The countries at the bottom
Data points 43–48- 43
Burundi: 8.6% of the population online in 2024. (World Bank, 2025)Verified
- 44
Uganda: 8.9% of the population online in 2024. (World Bank, 2025)Verified
- 45
Chad: 12.6% of the population online in 2024. (World Bank, 2025)Verified
- 46
Central African Republic: 13.8% of the population online in 2024. (World Bank, 2025)Verified
- 47
Eritrea: 14.3% of the population online in 2020. (World Bank, 2025)Verified
- 48
Niger: 15.6% of the population online in 2024. (World Bank, 2025)Verified
Methodology
Figures come from the World Bank World Development Indicators, series IT.NET.USER.ZS (internet use), IT.NET.BBND.P2 (fixed broadband) and IT.CEL.SETS.P2 (mobile subscriptions), last updated 2026-07-13. Regional figures are the World Bank aggregate for that region, weighted by population; we shorten the official region names for readability but the underlying aggregate is unchanged. Nothing here is modelled or adjusted by us: each figure is read straight from the indicator and can be reproduced on the World Bank data portal.
Every data point carries one of three labels. Verified means the figure was read from the named primary source. Directional means sources agree on the trend but measure it differently. Single source means one publisher reported it and nobody has corroborated it. We would rather label a number honestly than round it into confidence it has not earned.
Sources & references
3 datasets cited- World Bank — Individuals using the Internet (% of population) (
IT.NET.USER.ZS). Period 2025, published 2026-07-13. View the dataset.
World Development Indicators. Regional figures are the World Bank aggregate for that region, which weights every country in it by population unless the indicator says otherwise. - World Bank — Fixed broadband subscriptions (per 100 people) (
IT.NET.BBND.P2). Period 2025, published 2026-07-13. View the dataset.
World Development Indicators. Regional figures are the World Bank aggregate for that region, which weights every country in it by population unless the indicator says otherwise. - World Bank — Mobile cellular subscriptions (per 100 people) (
IT.CEL.SETS.P2). Period 2025, published 2026-07-13. View the dataset.
World Development Indicators. Regional figures are the World Bank aggregate for that region, which weights every country in it by population unless the indicator says otherwise.
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Cite this report
The Knowledge Engineers. (2026, 7 September 2026). Digital Access by Region: North America, Europe and Asia Compared. https://theknowledgeengineers.com/reports/digital-access-by-region
The Knowledge Engineers. “Digital Access by Region: North America, Europe and Asia Compared.” The Knowledge Engineers, 7 September 2026, https://theknowledgeengineers.com/reports/digital-access-by-region.
The Knowledge Engineers. “Digital Access by Region: North America, Europe and Asia Compared.” 7 September 2026. https://theknowledgeengineers.com/reports/digital-access-by-region.