Internet and Mobile Users in Asia-Pacific: eMarketer's Country-by-Country Forecast for 2017–2021

Executive Summary

In 2017, nearly 1.90 billion internet users will reside in Asia-Pacific—making up more than half of the world’s digital population. The audience will grow 8.0% this year, driven by mobile adoption. At least 70.1% of internet users in the region will use a smartphone.

• Internet penetration among the total population will be highest in markets with widespread internet coverage, like South Korea (87.8%), Taiwan (82.7%), Japan (82.3%) and Hong Kong (81.8%). Meanwhile, penetration rates will be low in countries that are building their mobile networks, such as India (33.5%) and Indonesia (38.7%).
• Smartphones will overtake feature phones as the primary type of phone used in Asia-Pacific this year. The user base will grow 11.8% to reach 51.0% of mobile phone users. By 2021, penetration will hit 62.4%, spurred by improving internet coverage and speeds as well as more affordable device options.
• The tablet user growth rate in Asia-Pacific will be just 4.6% this year, with user numbers totaling 520.9 million. Interest in tablets is low across the region, as consumers look to invest in new, larger smartphone models.
• China will have 771.9 million internet users this year, or 40.7% of the region’s digital audience. The number of users will expand 5.7%, driven by rural consumers going online for the first time via smartphones.