Internet Trends 2023. Stats & Facts in the U.S. and Worldwide

While we're dedicated to VPNs and online privacy issues, vpnMentor is also your resource for Internet trends and data.

As a result, we've scoured the most trusted research sites to present you with the following series of charts. Grouped by general topic, the information below represents the most recent data on major internet trends.

Feel free to share these statistics, whether the entire article or just a single graph, with attribution.

Global Internet Trends

Number of Websites in 2021

There are over 1.83 billion websites all over the world in 2021.

Web Growth Statistics

The fastest growing segment of the internet is the number of mobile social media users.

Mobile Internet Penetration

South Korea leads with 71.5% of the population who are mobile users.

Internet Traffic Statistics

There are 4,803,660,196 internet users as of January 2021.

Asia accounts for almost half of the world’s internet users.

Smart Device Comparisons

Percentage of Mobile Web Internet Traffic

An astonishing 61.09% of Asia's total web traffic comes from mobile devices.

Number of Smartphone Users

While several forecasts pegged 2014 as the “year of revolution” when mobile-only users would surpass desktop-only users, it turns out the forecast finally became reality in the U.S. in 2015. Since the start of 2017, mobile has surpassed desktop use and steadily remains so all the way through 2020, leading with 55.73%.

U.S. Platform Trends

As of 2021 there are 3.8 billion active smartphone users globally, with China and Asia Pacific forming more than one quarter of the total amount.

Tablet Internet Use

Desktop accounts for 48.56% of internet use, mobile for slightly less at 47.46%, and tablet for just 3.98% – an amount that has decreased significantly since 2017.

Desktop vs Mobile vs Tablets in the U.K.

In the UK, the number of people who use a desktop increased from 44.24% to 46.74% in just one year, whilst mobile just surpassed desktop at 46.83%. 

VPN Use 

Of course, VPN use and data privacy have strong correlations. By accessing a separate server for internet use, VPNs make it much more difficult for hackers and third parties to track online activities. The following charts examine the current state of VPN use around the globe.

Top Markets for VPN Use

Since 2016 the VPN market has been experiencing continuous growth, reaching the sum of 31.1 billion U.S. dollars in 2021

Website Performance

How Load Time Affects Web Page Abandonment

Although web page features like plug-ins, pop-ups, and streaming video can enhance the presentation of your message, they can also negatively impact the load time of the page. As depicted in the accompanying charts, if a page takes more than 3 seconds to load, there is a significant likelihood of users abandoning it.

Global Internet Speed Trend

Good news: internet speeds around the globe are at their highest peak ever with Thailand, Singapore, Hong Kong and Romania occupying top positions.

Search and Social Media

Worldwide Number of Social Media Users

In 2021, it’s estimated that the number of social media users will reach over 3.5 billion. A number that will continue to rise for the foreseeable future.

Most Popular US Social Media Platforms

Youtube is the most used social media site on the internet - over 73% of US adults use it.

Content Management System Trends

WordPress continues to win the content management market share with over 64.1%. The No.2 system is now Shopify, with a 5.2% market share.

Percentage of Internet Browser Users

In terms of web browsers used, Google Chrome continues to thrive. According to the latest numbers, it is more than 4 times as popular as its next closest competitor (Safari).

Percentage of Internet Time Spent on Search Engines/Social Media

There are three main activities that people use their smartphone for: maps, instant messenger, and music.

Percentage of Most Visited Social Media Platforms

Facebook takes the lead as the most visited social media platform with over 2.7 billion active users, followed by YouTube and WhatsApp.

Global and U.S. E-Commerce Trends

Statistics on Internet Research Before a Purchase by Age Group

People between 18-29 are the most likely to purchase a product online, while only a little more than half will research the product beforehand.

Facts and Statistics about Product Reviews

Think reviews are important? You’re right! 53% of shoppers read customer reviews before purchasing a product.

E-commerce Spending Via Mobile

When it comes to online purchasing, people purchase more on mobile in 2021 than they do on tablets or desktops.

World E-commerce Statistics

E-commerce has experienced a significant increase in terms of sales, growing from $3535 billion in 2019 to an estimated $4206 billion in 2020. The trend looks set to continue, with e-commerce sales projected to rise another $700 billion in 2021.

Digital Worldwide Buyers in 2021

The number of online buyers reached an estimated 2.05 billion in 2020, and is forecasted to soar above 2 billion in 2021.

Who Uses the Internet to Shop?

The U.K takes the lead for E-commerce spending per capita, followed by the United States and South Korea.

2021 U.S. and UK Online Shopping

In terms of U.S. and UK E-commerce, an influx of growing E-commerce platforms means Shopify no longer dominates the market. WooCommerce Checkout is the number one platform, with a market share of 24.3% in the U.S. and 26.3% in the U.K.

Forecast and Trends for 2021 and Beyond

Currently, mobile users spend more than double the time in apps as they do on mobile web pages. In future years, we believe this gap will continue to grow even wider.

Mobile App vs Mobile Web

Feel free to use these statistics on your site, whether the entire article or just a single graph, with attribution.

Internet Trends: Resources Used

• • www.internetlivestats.com/
  • www.statista.com/statistics/271411/number-of-internet-users-in-selected-countries/
  • www.statista.com/statistics/330695/number-of-smartphone-users-worldwide/
  • www.gs.statcounter.com/platform-market-share/desktop-mobile-tablet
  • www.speedtest.net/global-index
  • www.statista.com/statistics/278414/number-of-worldwide-social-network-users/
  • www.w3techs.com/technologies/overview/content_management
  • www.trends.builtwith.com/cms
  • www.oberlo.co.uk/statistics/browser-market-share
  • www.statista.com/statistics/272014/global-social-networks-ranked-by-number-of-users//
  • www.statista.com/statistics/379046/worldwide-retail-e-commerce-sales//
  • www.trends.builtwith.com/shop
  • www.population.un.org/wup/DataQuery/
  • www.worldometers.info/world-population/
  • www.datareportal.com/global-digital-overview