Asia-Pacific has the world’s largest online population, but its internet user penetration rate is one of the lowest. While this speaks to the region’s untapped potential, the days of heady growth are over: No Asia-Pacific country has experienced double-digit growth since 2021 with Indonesia, which will post just 2.9% growth in 2025. The overall number of connected users in the region will rise 2.3% this year, and governments are investing heavily in telecom infrastructure, including 5G, to sustain growth.

Our internet and digital device user forecasts were issued in March 2025, before many of the Trump-imposed tariffs on foreign goods were enacted. The forecast reflects some economic disruption and assumes limited tariffs targeting only select trading partners.

Click here to read our report, "Impact of Tariffs on US Businesses" for more on how the trade war could affect our forecasts and models of different scenarios.

Asia-Pacific boasts the most internet users globally but trails in penetration

In 2025, the online population of Asia-Pacific will reach 2.87 billion, which is more than four times that of the second-placing region, the Middle East and Africa. Growth in Asia-Pacific is driven by countries like India and Indonesia, which have huge populations and relatively low internet user penetration at 54.8% and 66.5% of the populace, respectively.

Click here to view our full forecast for internet users, by country.