Russia Has Fastest Growing Internet Population in Europe
European Internet Audience Soars to More than 240 Million Visitors in June
Regional Online Penetration Highest in the Netherlands and Nordic Countries
LONDON, U.K., August 27, 2008 – Comscore, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR), a leader in measuring the digital world, today released the results of a study of the online behavior of European Internet audiences based on data from the Comscore World Metrix audience measurement service, showing Russia as the fastest-growing Internet population on the continent.
Fastest Growing Internet Audiences in Europe
The total number of European Internet users grew 8 percent during the past year to 241.8 million visitors in June 2008. Russia ranked as the fastest-growing Internet audience in Europe, up 27 percent to 17.5 million visitors, followed by France (up 21 percent to 31.5 million visitors), Spain (up 15 percent to 16.2 million visitors), and Ireland (up 15 percent to 1.6 million visitors).
Growth of European internet Audiences
Ranked by Year on Year Growth Rate*
Total Unique Visitors (000)** Age 15+
Home & Work locations
June 2008 vs. June 2007
Source: Comscore World Metrix
|
| Country
|
Jun-2007
|
Jun-2008
|
% Change
|
| Europe
|
223,922
|
241,847
|
8%
|
| Russian Federation
|
13,791
|
17,490
|
27%
|
| France
|
26,106
|
31,463
|
21%
|
| Spain
|
14,074
|
16,245
|
15%
|
| Ireland
|
1,400
|
1,606
|
15%
|
| Switzerland
|
3,743
|
4,183
|
12%
|
| Denmark
|
3,109
|
3,437
|
11%
|
| United Kingdom
|
31,669
|
34,860
|
10%
|
| Belgium
|
4,807
|
5,237
|
9%
|
| Italy
|
17,905
|
19,455
|
9%
|
| Sweden
|
5,351
|
5,766
|
8%
|
| Austria
|
3,767
|
4,056
|
8%
|
| Norway
|
2,654
|
2,835
|
7%
|
| Germany
|
32,857
|
34,986
|
6%
|
| Finland
|
2,848
|
3,015
|
6%
|
| Netherlands
|
11,287
|
11,227
|
-1%
|
| Portugal
|
N/A
|
3,618
|
N/A
|
*Rankings based on the 16 individually reportable European countries in Comscore World Metrix. European Internet audience figures are comprehensive and include visitation from countries that are not individually reportable.
**Excludes traffic from public computers such as Internet cafes or access from mobile phones or PDAs.
Internet Penetration by Country
Internet adoption was highest in the Netherlands, where 82 percent of the country’s total population age 15 and older went online in June. Adoption rates were also high in the Nordic countries, with Denmark (77 percent), Sweden (76 percent), Norway (76 percent) and Finland (69 percent) rounding out the top five.
U.K. Internet users spent the greatest amount of time online, averaging 28.5 hours per user per month, while German Internet users recorded the most page views, averaging 2,906 pages per visitor. Although Russia had the fastest-growing audience in Europe, it ranked near the bottom in terms of penetration and page views.
European Internet Usage Overview
Ranked by Penetration of Total Country Population Age 15+*
Total Unique Visitors (000)** Age 15+
Home & Work locations
June 2008 vs. June 2007
Source: Comscore World Metrix
|
| Country
|
Penetration of Total Country population, Age 15+ Online (%)***
|
Average Hours per Visitor
|
Average Pages per Visitor
|
| Europe
|
39%
|
23.3
|
2,665
|
| Netherlands
|
82%
|
23.4
|
2,884
|
| Denmark
|
77%
|
16.8
|
2,406
|
| Sweden
|
76%
|
21.7
|
2,901
|
| Norway
|
76%
|
19.9
|
2,480
|
| Finland
|
69%
|
20.0
|
2,644
|
| Switzerland
|
66%
|
19.0
|
2,176
|
| United Kingdom
|
65%
|
28.5
|
2,836
|
| France
|
61%
|
23.3
|
2,544
|
| Belgium
|
60%
|
19.9
|
2,343
|
| Austria
|
58%
|
16.0
|
2,078
|
| Ireland
|
49%
|
14.6
|
1,536
|
| Germany
|
49%
|
23.2
|
2,906
|
| Spain
|
47%
|
25.1
|
2,218
|
| Portugal
|
41%
|
19.8
|
2,393
|
| Italy
|
39%
|
18.8
|
1,971
|
| Russian Federation
|
14%
|
16.0
|
2,091
|
*Rankings based on the 16 individually reportable European countries in Comscore World Metrix. European Internet audience figures are comprehensive and include visitation from countries that are not individually reportable.
**Excludes traffic from public computers such as Internet cafes or access from mobile phones or PDAs.
***Geographic population breakdowns supplied by U.S. Census Bureau, 2007.
About Comscore
Comscore, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR) is a global leader in measuring the digital world. For more information, please visit www.comscore.com/boilerplate
Ayaan Mohamud
Comscore, Inc.
+ 44 (0) 207-099-1775
worldpress@comscore.com