Internet Hits 1.5 Billion Users

This from  http://www.internetworldstats.com:

Internet Hits 1.5 Billion Users

Internet had a fantastic expansion during 2008. All world regions show growth, however, at very different rates. This is quite normal due to cultural, social, and economic factors prevailing in each part of the world as well as the already existing number of users.

The following table, displayed for the first time, gives the yearly growth rates (2007 to 2008) for each region of the world, estimated according to the Internet World Stats database.

Internet Usage Growth 2007 – 2008 Year-to-date by World Regions
Region	2008	2007	Growth (%)
Africa	54,374,130	44,361,940	25.2 %
America, Caribbean	7,994,300	5,985,209	33.6 %
America, Central	28,639,500	25,997,600	10.2 %
America, North	249,367,592	238,015,529	4.8 %
America, South	108,925,884	77,978,800	39.7 %
Asia	601,354,674	510,478,743	17.8 %
Europe	390,499,251	348,125,847	12.2 %
Middle East	43,317,200	33,510,500	29.9 %
Oceania, Australia	20,204,306	19,175,836	5.4 %
Total World	1,504,027,504	1,319,872,109	14.1 %
Source: Internet World Stats Database, accessed on December 3, 2008. Comparison figures are 2007 year-end data and 2008 Third Quarter data. Please Note: Mexico is included in Central America, and Turkey is included in Europe. Copyright © 2008, Miniwatts Marketing Group.