A Snapshot Of Internet Usage Around The World

Global management consulting firm A.T. Kearney has conducted a survey to find out just how connected consumers across the world are to the internet.

Their findings show a world much further along on the path to constant technological connectivity than many might have thought.

For the survey, A.T. Kearney interviewed 10,000 people across ten different countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Japan, Brazil, Russia, China, India, South Africa, and Nigeria. Every country surveyed, except for South Africa, is in the top ten of Internet-using countries in terms of number of users.

Here's what the survey discovered about how consumers use the internet, behave on the internet, and how they buy things on the internet.

More and more consumers are "continuously connected" - meaning they say they are connected all day long - and not just in the countries you would expect.

With young populations and heavy smartphone use, Brazil and Nigeria are the most connected. Two-thirds of their respondents said they are continuously connected.

Here's a look at the demographics of the "continuously connected." No surprises here: most are in the 26-35 range.

A.T. Kearney

Consumers have very different reasons for being online. Interestingly, countries like the US, UK, Germany, and Japan all scored low on "expressing opinions," while countries with censorship, like Russia and China, ranked extremely high.

Social media dominates the internet in every country surveyed.

How much social media influences buying decisions is dependent on age. More than two-thirds of respondents 35 and younger say they frequently or occasionally base buying decisions on what's happening in social networks. Those above 65 overwhelmingly said they rarely or never do so.

A.T. Kearney

More and more people prefer to shop online.

And here's what they bought.

A.T. Kearney provided some more information about those they surveyed. Here's what the demographics look like: