The Online Status of the Planet

Around the world, some 429 million people are now believed to have Internet access, according to a new Nielsen//Netratings survey. Within Europe alone, more than a quarter of all homes are connected via a home PC, compared with one-third of all homes in Asia Pacific and nearly half of American households.

The research results clearly show that the U.S. and Canada still account for the largest proportion of the world's Internet access. Some 41% of the global audience is still located in those countries at present. Europe, the Middle East and Africa have the second highest access, with 27% of the world's Internet population, followed by Asia Pacific with 20% and Latin America with 4%.

Compared with a year ago, more households in Europe and Asia Pacific now have a PC in the home and a greater proportion of homes are making use of that PC to connect to the Internet. Over the next 12 months, another 9% of European households and 12% of Asia Pacific households plan on acquiring Internet access. Germany, the UK and Italy -- the three European countries with the highest number of home Internet users -- together account for half the total European Internet population.

In Europe and Asia Pacific, home access is more common than work-based access. In Europe, home access is particularly dominant in the Netherlands and Italy, where home access rates are at least twice as much as work access. In most countries, the home access rate has increased since the end of 2000, while work access rates tend to be much more stable.

The survey also found that one in six European adults used the Internet to seek pricing or information on products and services. One in 11 adults actually made a purchase online in the same period. Denmark, Sweden and Switzerland came top in Europe in terms of Web-based browsing and buying, while Belgium/Luxembourg, Italy and Spain had relatively few consumers browsing or purchasing via the Internet. Italian and Spanish people are more reluctant than other Europeans to buy after seeking product information online. In Sweden, by contrast, 46% of surfers shop each month and 26% of all surfers buy online.

All articles 2006-22 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas unless otherwise stated.

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