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This article was first published 10 years ago

Most internet addicted countries in 2014

August 21, 2014 10:31 IST

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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

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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.
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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.
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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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Tags: Andorra

Most internet addicted countries in 2014

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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

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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

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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.
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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

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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

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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

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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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Tags: Finland

Most internet addicted countries in 2014

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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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Tags: Bermuda , US

Most internet addicted countries in 2014

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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

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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.
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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

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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

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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

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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

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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.