Singapore, 23 December 2025 — If it feels like the internet is “everywhere,” the numbers back that up. The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) estimates that around 6 billion people about 74% of the world, use the internet in 2025, up from a revised 5.8 billion in 2024. Even so, about 2.2 billion people remain offline, and ITU warns that the most stubborn gaps now show up in quality, affordability, and skills, not just basic access.
For businesses and publishers, that reality creates a clear hierarchy: markets with the largest online populations can move the global needle, while highly connected hubs like Singapore shape the region through speed, digital services, and cross-border flows.
Global milestone: 6 billion online, but the divide is shifting
ITU’s 2025 release frames the internet story as progress with a catch: connectivity is expanding, but the experience isn’t equal. The report highlights indicators such as 5G reach (estimated 55% of the global population) and the unevenness between high and low-income markets, reinforcing that “being online” can mean very different things depending on where you live.
The latest ranking: countries with the most internet users (2025)
In absolute terms, the list closely tracks population size, especially where adoption has already crossed a majority of citizens. Here’s a widely cited 2025 snapshot of the countries with the biggest internet user bases:
| Rank | Country | Estimated internet users (2025) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | China | 1.11 billion |
| 2 | India | 806 million |
| 3 | United States | 332 million |
| 4 | Indonesia | 212 million |
| 5 | Brazil | 183 million |
| 6 | Russia | 133 million |
| 7 | Pakistan | 116 million |
| 8 | Mexico | 110 million |
| 9 | Japan | 109 million |
| 10 | Nigeria | 107 million |
What stands out: the top three alone represent well over 2 billion internet users, an audience scale that influences everything from platform strategy and ad pricing to content moderation and product localization.
Why “most internet users” doesn’t always mean “most connected”
A big internet population can still hide major gaps. For example, the same ranking shows penetration can be far lower in some high-population countries, meaning growth potential remains significant as affordability improves and infrastructure expands.
That’s also why global benchmarks can vary depending on definitions and timing (survey-based estimates vs. platform reach vs. national statistics). ITU explicitly notes that it revises prior-year estimates as better data becomes available.
Where Singapore?
Singapore won’t appear in the “most users” league table simply because it’s a city-state, but its numbers are still strategically important for regional business.
According to DataReportal’s Digital 2025: Singapore, the country had 5.61 million internet users in January 2025, with 95.8% penetration. The same report estimates 10.5 million mobile connection, about 179% of the population, reflecting multi-SIM and eSIM habits.
On the household side, Singapore’s Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) reported that 99% of resident households have internet access, underscoring how close the market is to full digital coverage.
In the end, “most internet users” is more than a leaderboard, it’s a lens on where attention, commerce, and influence concentrate, and where the next wave of online growth may emerge as infrastructure and affordability improve.