Photographs: Paul Vreeker/Reuters
For many reading this, it’s hard to imagine life without internet. Some of you may not prefer to stay connected but surely enjoy the free music and video streaming and ease of looking up information on the World Wide Web.
Many governments realise that internet is the future and have taken initiatives to connect each and every member of their country to it.
Some nations, such as Finland, have declared that internet access a legal right for the citizens.
Social Progress Index has compiled data on the internet usage. India lacks behind according to it. Only 12.58 per cent of its population has access to internet.
Here are top 20 countries which have the highest internet penetration.
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Most internet addicted countries in 2014
Image: Investors monitor screens displaying stock information at the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange.Photographs: Ben Job/Reuters
United Arab Emirates
Rank: 20
Percentage of individuals using the Internet: 85 per cent
While the internet penetration in the country is high, the government has put censorship on pornography, politically sensitive material and Israeli domains. The country has also banned Voice-over-Internet Protocol services such as Skype.
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Most internet addicted countries in 2014
Image: Jens Lehmann sits in the garden of a hotel.Photographs: Alexander Hassenstein/Reuters
Switzerland
Rank: 19
Percentage of individuals using the Internet: 85.2 per cent
The country has highly developed telecommunications infrastructure. The mobile-cellular subscribership is roughly 125 per 100 persons.
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Most internet addicted countries in 2014
Image: A model poses with a laptop during the CeBIT computer fair.Photographs: Hannibal Hanschke/Reuters
Faroe Islands
Rank: 18
Percentage of individuals using the Internet: 85.34 per cent
The Faroe Islands have been a self-governing country within the Danish Realm since 1948, according to Wikipedia. The expansion of the internet network is regularly developed in the country and today nearly 100 per cent of the population have the possibility of internet access.
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Most internet addicted countries in 2014
Image: Twitter employee Amber Costa works on a computer.Photographs: Robert Galbraith/Reuters
Andorra
Rank: 17
Percentage of individuals using the Internet: 86.43 per cent
The country has one of the best fibre optic networks in the world and the government plans to provide 100 Mbps connection to everyone.
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Most internet addicted countries in 2014
Image: A man zooms into a photo on an Apple New iPad tablet.Photographs: Thomas Peter/Reuters
Canada
Rank: 16
Percentage of individuals using the Internet: 86.77 per cent
Canadians spend more time on internet compared to any one else in the world. A person spends an average of 45 hours a month on internet. Canada ranks as the 20th country in the world for Internet usage with 28.47 million users as of June 2012, according to Wikipedia.
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Most internet addicted countries in 2014
Image: Keenen Thompson and Jessica Mellow (R) surf the web while waiting in line to buy an iPhone 4S at the Apple Store.Photographs: Brendan McDermid/Reuters
Monaco
Rank: 15
Percentage of individuals using the Internet: 87 per cent
Being a small country, Monaco has over 35,000 internet users. The internet penetration grew about 3 per cent this year.
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Most internet addicted countries in 2014
Image: Passengers wait after short haul flights.Photographs: Olivia Harris/Reuters
United Kingdom
Rank: 14
Percentage of individuals using the Internet: 87.02 per cent
The penetration in the UK has reached so much that 25 per cent of school kids under the age of 10 have email accounts and 16 per cent have laptops, according to a survey.
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Most internet addicted countries in 2014
Image: A woman checks her messages on her mobile phone at a coffeeshop.Photographs: Hamad I Mohammed/Reuters
Bahrain
Rank: 13
Percentage of individuals using the Internet: 88 per cent
Bahrain was among the first few countries in Middle East to offer internet services to its citizens. Until few years back, the country had liberal policies. Lately, Bahrain has started surveillance and filtering.
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Most internet addicted countries in 2014
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Qatar
Rank: 12
Percentage of individuals using the Internet: 88.10 per cent
Qatar one of the most connected countries in the Arab region, but internet is heavily censored. Qatar does selective filtering in political and conflict/security areas.
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Most internet addicted countries in 2014
Image: Jenna Sampson, a community relations manager at Twitter, works on the company's rooftop deck.Photographs: Noah Berger/Reuters
Liechtenstein
Rank: 11
Percentage of individuals using the Internet: 89.41 per cent
Liechtenstein is a microstate in the Europe bordered by Switzerland and Austria. It has an estimated population of 35,000, which occupy an area of mere 160 square kilometres. The country has a well developed telecommunication infrastructure.
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Most internet addicted countries in 2014
Image: Members of the media covering the tour of Britain's Prince William and his wife Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, sit inside a military aircraft as they travel to Queenstown.Photographs: Phil Noble/Reuters
New Zealand
Rank: 10
Percentage of individuals using the Internet: 89.51 per cent
The country has about 17,72,000 broadband connections and 99,000 dialups. New Zealand has well developed 3G and 4G networks and fibre to the home is gradually being introduced in the main towns and cities.
The New Zealand Government is funding two broadband expansion initiatives, with the aim of providing fibre to the home of 75 per cent of the population and bringing broadband to 97.8 per cent of the population by 2019, according to Wikipedia.
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Most internet addicted countries in 2014
Image: A girl tests out the new Nokia N8 mobile phone.Photographs: Markku Ulander/Reuters
Finland
Rank: 9
Percentage of individuals using the Internet: 91 per cent
Finland was the first country in the world to declare broadband Internet access a legal right in 2009. According to the laws, the internet providers need to provide connection of minimum 1Mbps speed and this is being increased gradually. The country is aiming to take this figure to 100 Mbps soon.
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Most internet addicted countries in 2014
Image: A girl wearing the traditional red and white festival costume uses a laptop computer.Photographs: Vincent West/Reuters
Bermuda
Rank: 8
Percentage of individuals using the Internet: 91.3 per cent
Bermuda, located close to the US, is a British Overseas Territory. It has a population of over 64,000.
The mobile teledensity of the country is about 125 per 100 persons and it also has a good infrastructure of fibre optic.
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Most internet addicted countries in 2014
Image: Ten-year-old Sara Seuri beta-tests Spotz, the first true convergence of online and offline play by Zizzle Toys.Photographs: John Gress/Reuters
Luxembourg
Rank: 7
Percentage of individuals using the Internet: 92 per cent
Luxembourg ranks 2nd in Europe for Internet connectivity with 8 out of 10 households using high-speed connections.
It’s capital, Luxembourg City, has one of the most successful municipal wi-fi network.
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Most internet addicted countries in 2014
Image: Students set up their donated laptop computers on the first day of school at Joplin High School in Joplin.Photographs: John Gress/Reuters
Netherlands
Rank: 6
Percentage of individuals using the Internet: 93 per cent
Most households in the country have a connection speeds of 50 Mbps or higher. The country has also not seen cases of spying or censorship.
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Most internet addicted countries in 2014
Image: Rasmus Thomsen of Denmark works on his computer as he waits at Boston Logan International Airport.Photographs: Bizuayehu Tesfaye/Reuters
Denmark
Rank: 5
Percentage of individuals using the Internet: 93 per cent
Though the internet reaches a large population, there have been reported cases of censorship. The country blocks websites that let people share copyrighted material such as movies and music. For example AllOfMp3 and The Pirate Bay is blocked in Denmark.
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Most internet addicted countries in 2014
Image: Coders work in the Mojang company office.Photographs: Ints Kalnins/Reuters
Sweden
Rank: 4
Percentage of individuals using the Internet: 94 per cent
Sweden ranks 18th and 5th highest in the world in terms of the percentage of its fixed and wireless broadband subscriptions respectively, according to Wikipedia. The country has about 8.7 million users.
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Most internet addicted countries in 2014
Image: Blogger Lina Ben Mhenni, who was tipped for the Nobel Peace Prize, works on her computer.Photographs: Zoubeir Souissi/Reuters
Norway
Rank: 3
Percentage of individuals using the Internet: 95 per cent
Norway has one of the best internet penetrations in Europe. Some statistics even claim that 100 per cent of the population has access to internet. The country has no censorship except for child pornography.
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Most internet addicted countries in 2014
Image: A child lies on a desk while playing a computer game.Photographs: Jo Yong-Hak/Reuters
Iceland
Rank: 2
Percentage of individuals using the Internet: 96.21 per cent
The internet speed in Iceland matches the penetration and is one of the fastest in Europe. World Economic Forum rates Iceland No. 1 for internet access in schools, accessibility of digital content, and also in the number of secure Internet servers.
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Most internet addicted countries in 2014
Image: Customers check products on computer terminals at IKEA's newest store.Photographs: Bob Strong/Reuters
Falkland (Malvinas)
Rank: 1
Percentage of individuals using the Internet: 96.92 per cent
Falkland Islands are an archipelago comprising of about 778 islands. It is part of British Overseas territory. The population of the country was around 2,840 in 2012, according to CIA’s The World Factbook.
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