It seems that the people in China have more free time on their hands then anyone thought. China is on its way to overtaking the US as the nation with the most number of Internet users. As per the China Internet Network Information Center (CINIC), a state-controlled agency, in the next two years, growth in Internet usage would pick up as computers get cheaper, and people adopt more mobile lifestyles.
In a statement, Wang Enhai, an official with the CINIC, said that they believe it will take two years at the most for China to overtake the US. An increasing number of people are now getting hooked on to the Web as PCs and Internet access are becoming affordable, and Internet-based offerings diversified. According to reports, China saw strong growth in wireless Internet use, with about 17 million people online on mobile phones out of a total of nearly 461 million mobile phone users in the country.
The country also saw its Internet population soar by 23.4 percent last year to reach 137 million. And, while about 210 million out of the total 300 million people in the US are online, in China, it is estimated that the corresponding figure will reach 210 million users in two years, if only the country keeps up with its 24 percent annual online growth rate.
According to CINIC, as per new statistics, over one in 10 people in China have become Internet users. The online population now makes up 10.5 percent of the total population, and in Beijing, it now exceeds 30 percent of the total population for the first time ever. With user penetration hitting almost 10 percent, commercially, this could mean a haven of opportunities for Chinese businesses.
All said and done, it is ironical that a country whose government has time and again blocked access to Internet content, deeming it subversive, obscene, or otherwise, should come a close second in the race for the highest online populations across the globe.
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