Daniel Slotta
Research expert covering Greater China
Internet usage in China - statistics & facts
China is home to the largest digital community in the world, with about 1.11 billion netizens as of the end of 2024. Yet, the country’s internet penetration rate was right below 80  percent, lagging behind its close neighbors South Korea and Japan , which ranged over the 88 percent mark. The main setback is the slow progress of internet infrastructures in the remote regions. While the internet adoption rate in first-tier cities, like Beijing and Shanghai, surpassed 80 percent, the average internet access rate in rural China stood below 68 percent in 2024.  
