DIGITAL AROUND THE WORLD IN 2019 I say this in my introduction to our Global community will spend a combined total in e-commerce over the past year, with Digital Reports every year, but the past of more than 1.2 billion years using the m-commerce and mobile wallets playing twelve months really have seen impressive internet in 2019. an increasingly important role in the lives growth across all things digital. This year’s of people all across the globe. collection of 230+ reports reveals some Social media continues to account for SIMON KEMP striking new numbers in countries all across the greatest share of that time, and the This year’s reports also take a closer look REPORT AUTHOR the globe, with developing economies average user spends more time on social at some of the more recent additions to the showing some particularly strong growth. today than they did this time last year. The digital landscape, including the growing number of social media users around the use of voice control, and public adoption The big story in this year’s data is the world has increased by more than 280 of cryptocurrencies. accelerating growth in internet users. More million since January 2018, but there than 360 million people came online for have also been some user declines across Best of all, we’re making this year’s full the first time during 2018, at an average some of the world’s top social platforms. collection of 5,000+ charts available for rate of more than 1 million new users each To help you make sense of this changing free. You’ll find details of how to download day. 57 percent of the world’s population social landscape, we’ve included detailed everything over the next few pages, but be is now connected to the internet, with data by platform across all of our reports. sure to check out the links to our wonderful trends indicating that all of the original data partners at the end of this report to ‘Next Billion Users’ are now online. Mobile users grew by a more modest 100 find even more rich data and insights. million over the past year, but that slower We’re spending significant amounts of growth is perhaps to be expected, given But with that, let’s get stuck into the time online, too. The average internet user that two-thirds of the world’s population numbers. Here’s to another year of now spends more than 6½ hours online already uses a mobile. However, impressive digital growth in 2019! each day, meaning that the world’s digital mobile has helped fuel strong growth 3