But even so, users are not slowing down on their internet use, with many of us spending a large portion of our day on the internet, connecting with friends, family, and the world at large. Read on to learn about our similarities and differences, and see how we engage with the ever expanding, ever more dynamic world wide web.

  1. The GDP of countries appears to strongly correlate with internet penetration, with the wealthiest countries having higher internet penetration and vice versa. The difference between internet users in North Korea and Qatar is 98.4% Despite its size and population, North Korea has an internet penetration of just 0.06%, while Qatar and the United Arab Emirates have a massive 99% of its citizens connected.

This is mainly due to less infrastructure availability.

However, it is no surprise that Kenya and Morocco spend less than 4 and 3 hours online per day respectively.

Linux is used with the least frequency, likely because the fact that it’s open source means it’s constantly changing, making it challenging to use if you don’t have technical know-how.

The popularity of Opera on the poorest continent is likely due to the fact that Opera requires less data than Chrome and is therefore a better option if you don’t have the latest device or biggest data package.

The main reasons for Google’s widespread use includes relevant ads and fast results. Plus, Google comes pre-installed on Android devices, the most popular operating system.

  1. Facebook is still the most popular social media platform across the board, with more than 1 billion people actively using the social media site.

Pinterest brings up the rear with just 200 million monthly users

This is likely because of recent scandals involving user privacy which have been more widely reported in the US than in other parts of the world.

LinkedIn is popular with this group is because it’s a professional networking site, and 30-49 year olds are at the stage where career development is most critical. On the other hand, WhatsApp-use in this age group likely has less to do with their love of the app and more to do with the convenience.

In fact, in the countries with male-dominated social media, women are often discriminated against sexually, physically, and educationally (many women can’t read or write).

  1. Facebook and WhatsApp are the most commonly used messenger apps, and are both owned by social media giant Facebook. Notably, in China, where both Facebook and WhatsApp are blocked by the government, the Chinese-owned WeChat dominates. Similarly, the Japanese favor the Japan-based Line, and South Koreans favor the Korea-based KakaoTalk.
  1. 52% of web surfing happens on mobile phones, which shouldn’t come a surprise. What is surprising is that while 25% of all online users use a VPN to connect to the internet, they still prefer to connect with a desktop or laptop (43%) instead of a tablet (4%). The reasons for using a VPN can vary from bypassing online censorship to accessing geo-blocked content as well as security reasons, which is why it makes sense that ExpressVPN and NordVPN are the two most popular VPNs in the world. These two secure providers consistently bypass VPN blocks and online censorship for users, regardless if they are using a smartphone, laptop, desktop, tablet, or another device.

From tracking our fitness routines, to finding the quickest route for our commutes, to selling that old couch, there’s an app for basically every element of modern life.

This is likely due to advancements in mobile technology. Specifically, mobile phones are now powerful enough to accommodate websites and platforms that stream video and normally require more processing power than what phones used to be able to provide.

  1. 59% of people still prefer to read the news online rather than listen to or watch it.