Internet Users In China

By Adam Davis

ON AN AVERAGE DAY IN CHINA, an internet user surfs the net for approximately 2.2 hours.

The number of Internet users in China is growing by leaps and bounds. In fact, the rising superpower’s burgeoning online population has even surpassed that of the United States. Recent studies indicate that in 2006, there were 137 million Internet users, constituting about eleven percent of the total population.

Not only do Chinese Internet users outnumber their American counterparts, but they tend to be logged on for longer periods of time.  According to Forbes magazine, Chinese users spend nearly two billion hours online each week, whereas Americans only log on for 129 million hours.

Net users in China can only connect to the World Wide Web through six networks, or gateways, that are tightly controlled by government agencies. As more citizens gain access to the Internet, the Communist Party's censorship of sensitive websites will become a more pressing issue.  Websites on democracy, Tibet, and Taiwan are among the most frequently blocked by the Chinese government. 

Internet Users In China

Source: China Internet Network Information Center, CNNIC.net

Sources:

CBS News, Dec. 3, 2002: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2002/12/03/tech/main531567.shtml

"The Development and the State Control of the Chinese Internet,"  Hearing on China's State Control Mechanisms and Methods, April 14, 2005: http://www.uscc.gov/hearings/2005hearings/written_testimonies/05_04_14wrts/qiang_xiao_wrts.htm

Forbes.com, April 3, 2006: http://www.forbes.com/2006/03/31/china-internet-usage-cx_nwp_0403china.html

Adam Davis graduated from Wesleyan University in 2006 with a BA in French Studies.  Starting in the fall, he will pursue an MA in political science at Columbia University.  He speaks fluent French and German, and intermediate Mandarin Chinese.