APAC again dwarfs the rest in internet and mobile usage

APAC has the world's highest number of internet and social-media users, far surpassing other regions, according to We Are Social and Hootsuite’s Digital in 2018 report. Eastern Asia alone has 947 million internet users, almost triple the number of internet users from North America.

As a whole, APAC has 2.007 billion internet users (slightly less than half of its 4.214 billion population), 1.779 billion active social-media users and 1.713 billion active mobile social users. The region has seen 5% growth in internet users, 14% in active social media users, 8% in mobile connections and 16% in active mobile social users.

Thais and Filipinos spend the most time on the internet, averaging between 9 hours 38 minutes and 9 hours 29 minutes, respectively, in a day. The global average is six hours.

The world’s most visited websites, from SimilarWeb Ranking, based on total traffic to website.

Thais also spend the most time on mobile internet, 4 hours and 56 minutes a day, while Filipinos spend the most time on social media for the third year in a row, averaging 4 hours a day.

The report compiles data from GlobalWebIndex, GSMA Intelligence, Statista, Locowise and SimilarWeb.

Six Chinese apps—WeChat, QQ, Taobao, Alipay, WiFi Master Key and Tencent Video—occupy the majority of spots on a top 10 chart of mobile apps with the highest monthly active users. Hootsuite remarks that emerging markets lead the way in using social in their digital buying journey. Quoting figures from PWC, the report highlists that 70% Chinese consumers use social as an inspiration for purchases, compared to 59% globally. 

Percentage of internet users who use an ad-blocking tool to prevent the display of advertising content.

Meanwhile, Facebook-owned platforms—Facebook Messenger, Facebook and WhatsApp—are the top three mobile apps by the number of downloads.