Three Billion Internet Users by End of 2014: ITU

Forty-four percent of all fixed-broadband subscriptions are in Asia and the Pacific, and 25 percent are in Europe. In contrast, Africa accounts for less than 0.5 percent of the world's fixed-broadband subscriptions, and despite double-digit growth over the last four years, penetration in Africa remains very low. Africa, the Arab States, and CIS are the only regions with double-digit fixed-broadband penetration growth rates. The Americas region stands out with the lowest growth in fixed broadband penetration, estimated at 2.5 percent and reaching a penetration rate of around 17 percent by end 2014. Europe's fixed-broadband penetration is much higher compared with other regions and almost three times as high as the global average.

Globally, mobile-broadband penetration will reach 32 percent by end 2014; in developed countries, mobile-broadband penetration will reach 84 per cent, a level four times as high as in developing countries (21 percent). The number of mobile-broadband subscriptions will reach 2.3 billion globally and 55 percent of all mobile-broadband subscriptions are expected to be in the developing world. Mobile-broadband penetration levels are highest in Europe (64 percent) and the Americas (59 percent), followed by CIS (49 percent), the Arab States (25 percent), Asia-Pacific (23 percent) and Africa (19 percent).

By end 2014, 44 per cent of the world's households will have internet access. Close to one-third (31 percent) of households in developing countries will be connected to internet, compared with 78 per cent in developed countries. The analysis shows that household internet access is approaching saturation levels in developed countries.