Asia-Pacific Region Accounts for 41 Percent of Internet Users
China Ranks as Largest Internet Population in the World
LONDON, U.K., January 23, 2009 –Comscore, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR), a leader in measuring the digital world, today reported that total global Internet audience (age 15 and older from home and work computers) has surpassed 1 billion visitors in December 2008, based on data from the Comscore World Metrix audience measurement service.
The Asia-Pacific region accounted for the highest share of global Internet users at 41 percent, followed by Europe (28 percent share), North America (18 percent share), Latin-America (7 percent share), and the Middle East & Africa (5 percent share).
Total Worldwide Internet Audience: Regional Breakdown Ranked by Total Unique Visitors (000)*December 2008Age 15+, Home & Work LocationsSource: Comscore World Metrix
Region
Total Unique Visitors (000)
Share of Total Worldwide Internet Audience (%)
Worldwide
1,007,730
100.0%
Asia Pacific
416,281
41.3%
Europe
282,651
28.0%
North America
185,109
18.4%
Latin America
74,906
7.4%
Middle East & Africa
48,783
4.8%
* Excludes traffic from public computers such as Internet cafes or access from mobile phones or PDAs.
“Surpassing one billion global users is a significant landmark in the history of the Internet,” said Magid Abraham, President and Chief Executive Officer, Comscore, Inc. “It is a monument to the increasingly unified global community in which we live and reminds us that the world truly is becoming more flat. The second billion will be online before we know it, and the third billion will arrive even faster than that, until we have a truly global network of interconnected people and ideas that transcend borders and cultural boundaries.”
Chinese Internet Audience Outranks U.S.
China represented the largest online audience in the world in December 2008 with 180 million Internet users, representing nearly 18 percent of the total worldwide Internet audience, followed by the U.S. (16.2 percent share), Japan (6.0 percent share), Germany (3.7 percent share) and the U.K. (3.6 percent share).
Top 15 Countries by Internet AudienceRanked by Total Unique Visitors (000)*December 2008Age 15+, Home & Work LocationsSource: Comscore World Metrix
Country
China
179,710
17.8%
United States
163,300
16.2%
Japan
59,993
6.0%
Germany
36,992
3.7%
United Kingdom
36,664
3.6%
France
34,010
3.4%
India
32,099
3.2%
Russia
28,998
2.9%
Brazil
27,688
2.7%
South Korea
27,254
Canada
21,809
2.2%
Italy
20,780
2.1%
Spain
17,893
1.8%
Mexico
12,486
1.2%
Netherlands
11,812
Google Sites Ranks as Top Internet Property Worldwide
The most popular property in the world in December was Google Sites, with 777.9 million visitors, followed by Microsoft Sites (647.9 million visitors), Yahoo! Sites (562.6 million visitors). Facebook.com, which has grown a dramatic 127-percent in the past year to 222 million visitors, now ranks as the top social networking site worldwide and the seventh most popular property in the world.
Top 15 Worldwide PropertiesRanked by Total Worldwide Unique Visitors (000)*Age 15+, Home & Work LocationsDecember 2008Source: Comscore World Metrix
Property
% Reach of Total Worldwide Internet Audience
Total Worldwide Internet Audience
Google Sites
775,980
77.0%
Microsoft Sites
646,915
64.2%
Yahoo! Sites
562,571
55.8%
AOL LLC
273,020
27.1%
Wikimedia Foundation Sites
272,998
eBay
240,947
23.9%
Facebook.COM
221,791
22.0%
Amazon Sites
187,354
18.6%
CBS Corporation
178,844
17.7%
Fox Interactive Media
172,841
17.2%
Ask Network
164,513
16.3%
Apple Inc.
161,500
16.0%
Tencent Inc.
158,617
15.7%
Baidu.com Inc.
152,447
15.1%
Adobe Sites
123,623
12.3%
About Comscore Comscore, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR) is a global leader in measuring the digital world and preferred source of digital marketing intelligence. For more information, please visit www.comscore.com/companyinfo.
Ayaan MohamudComscore, Inc.+ 44 (0) 207-099-1775worldpress@comscore.com