A recent study performed by comScore shows that the Russian Internet market is the fastest growing in Europe. As of last year, the Russian Internet audience expanded by 27%, 6% more compared to the second European country in the chart, France. Ireland is the third to have developed its audience at a fast pace, being 15% up in a year-over-year comparison. Spain shares the bronze medal with Ireland, registering the same 15% growth. The difference between the two countries stands in the fact that Spain has a 10 times bigger population than Ireland. However, when it comes to the actual number of inhabitants, demographic gaps are not being taken into account by the comScore report.

 

The only country that registered a drop in the number of Internet users is the Netherlands. 60.000 less people were counted, in June, as having a home or work Internet connection, compared to last year. This can be a repercussion of the fact the Internet adoption in the country is the biggest in Europe, reaching 82%, 43% higher than the European average. This means that the market is somewhat over-saturated and some people might reconsider if they really need a non-stop access to the Internet.

 

The Northern Countries – Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Finland respectively follow in the top of largest European Internet audiences, bearing in mind the number of people who have a connection compared to the total number of inhabitants. The Russian Federation's Internet adoption market, although the most dynamic, still needs to grow in order for Internet to reach the majority of the population. Out of the approximated 143 million inhabitants, only 14% enjoy an Internet connection, which leaves room for improvements.

 

“U.K. Internet users spent the greatest amount of time online, averaging 28.5 hours per user per month, while German Internet users recorded the most page views, averaging 2,906 pages per visitor. Although Russia had the fastest-growing audience in Europe, it ranked near the bottom in terms of penetration and page views.” reveals the surveying company.