Key facts
- Global internet traffic has more than doubled between 2020 and 2025.
- Fixed network traffic increased from 3,100 exabytes in 2020 to 7,300 exabytes in 2025.
- Mobile data usage grew from 560 exabytes in 2020 to 1,500 exabytes in 2025.
Global internet traffic has more than doubled between 2020 and 2025, driven by digital services, streaming, and cloud computing. Fixed network traffic rose from 3,100 to 7,300 exabytes, while mobile data usage increased from 560 to 1,500 exabytes. Asia-Pacific leads traffic volumes.
Global internet traffic has more than doubled between 2020 and 2025, according to data from the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) detailed by Statista. This surge is driven by the expansion of digital services, streaming, and cloud computing worldwide. Fixed network traffic remains the dominant channel, increasing from approximately 3,100 exabytes in 2020 to an estimated 7,300 exabytes by 2025. Mobile data usage has also seen rapid growth, climbing from about 560 exabytes to 1,500 exabytes over the same period. The Asia-Pacific region accounts for the largest share of this traffic, representing 50 to 60 percent. Other regions, including the Americas and Europe, follow with lower traffic volumes, while Africa and the Arab States have demonstrated particularly strong relative growth due to rising connectivity and smartphone adoption. One exabyte is equivalent to one billion gigabytes, roughly the storage capacity of 8 million 128GB smartphones.
The massive increase in global internet traffic highlights the escalating infrastructure demands of the digital economy, impacting data centers, network capacity, and technology investments.