China Internet Population Over 200 Million, Nearing U.S.

Beijing (dbTechno) - In 2007, China saw a huge increased in the number of internet users in the country, as it topped the 200 million users mark, nearing the U.S. in total internet population for the country.

In 2007, China’s internet population rose to above 210 million. This was a 53% increase over the number at the end of 2006.

At the end of 2006 China had 137 million people on the internet.

This new number puts China just 5 million users away from having the largest internet population in teh world. This number could balloon even higher as the mark they are currently at has only 16% of the entire China population online.

Over the next few months China is expected to become the top internet market in the world, surpassing the U.S.

The biggest growth came from people in China under the age of 18, and over the age of 30.

The China Internet Network Information Center put out the number, stating that 40% of the new internet users, 29 million, all came from rural areas.

The most popular online application in China is online music. 86.6% of internet users in China use online music applications.

Coming in second for use was instant messaging at 81%.