In 2021, we projected growth would be the fastest in the Middle East and Africa (8.0%) and in the Asia Pacific regions (7.1%) as an increase in internet users led to an increase in Facebook users.

Worldwide, only the Middle East and Africa region has a lower internet penetration. In the US, 89.2% of the population will access the internet at least once per month this year. Passing 50% internet penetration in 2024 will be a significant step toward India becoming a more connected population.

Regionally, the Middle East and Africa will be the only part of the world growing its digital buyer base by more than 5%. Latin America will come in second, at 4.6%, but Latin America will produce more new buyers than the Middle East and Africa (11.5 million versus 5.4 million), thanks to its larger base.

The Middle East and Africa ranks second by this measure, as many consumers there were mobile-first internet users and have long been able to carry out banking and other financial transactions on mobile devices. At the other end of the spectrum, the mcommerce share in North America will be less than half the percentage in Asia-Pacific, at an estimated 38.2%.

In some markets in the Middle East and Africa and Asia-Pacific, there will also be a gender skew toward males, in line with their increased likelihood to be internet users.

We do not yet have country-level projections for the fastest-growing region in the world, Middle East and Africa, but it is growing from a very small base (70.3 million users this year). Central and Eastern Europe (71.4 million users) is also not broken out for now. North America: The Most Saturated Region, with Less Room for Growth.