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Internet penetration history · BEL

Belgium internet penetration over time

The latest verified observation is 95.8% in 2024. The available series begins at 0% in 1990, a net change of 95.8 percentage points.

35 VERIFIED OBSERVATIONS · ITU VIA WDI

Quick answers

LATEST

95.8%

Internet penetration in Belgium in 2024, the latest available observation in this series.

LONG-TERM CHANGE

+95.8 pp

Change between the first available observation in 1990 and the latest in 2024.

RECENT CONTEXT

+5.5 pp

From 2019 to 2024, the observed rate changed by 5.5 percentage points, from 90.3% to 95.8%.

The first observation at or above 50% is 2004 (53.9%). The first observation at or above 75% is 2010 (77.6%).

Historical trend

Each point is an official observation returned by World Bank WDI for IT.NET.USER.ZS. Lines connect observed points for readability; they do not create data for missing years.

Belgium internet penetration over timeVerified World Bank WDI observations for Belgium from 1990 to 2024. Missing years are not interpolated.0%25%50%75%100%19902024

Year-by-year internet penetration

Individuals using the Internet (% of population) — Belgium
YearInternet users
202495.8%
202394.6%
202294%
202192.8%
202091.5%
201990.3%
201888.6%
201787.7%
201686.5%
201585.1%
201485%
201382.2%
201280.7%
201181.6%
201077.6%
200974.5%
200868.9%
200766.8%
200662%
200555.8%
200453.9%
200350%
200246.3%
200131.3%
200029.4%
199913.8%
19987.9%
19974.9%
19963%
19951%
19940.7%
19930.2%
19920.1%
19910%
19900%

Download historical JSON → · Download historical CSV → · Compare countries →

What this measure means

On World Discovery, “internet penetration rate” and “internet users” both refer to the share of individuals who used the internet, matching World Development Indicators code IT.NET.USER.ZS. It is a population-use measure; it is not the same as fixed-broadband subscriptions, mobile subscriptions, connection speed or household access.

Compare internet users by country and year → · Explore the 2024 internet-use ranking →

Internet penetration here means individuals using the internet (% of population). It is reported as % of population. The indicator definition is: Individuals who have used the Internet from any location in the last 3 months.

This series is useful for questions such as “How has internet access changed in Belgium?” and “What is Belgium’s latest internet penetration rate?” It does not estimate people missing from the official observations.

Compare Belgium with similar regional rates

These Europe & Central Asia countries have the closest latest observed internet-penetration rates in the same verified history dataset. The links are based on data proximity, not a claim of social or economic similarity.

ESP

Spain

95.8% in 2024. Compare its verified historical internet-penetration series with Belgium.

SWE

Sweden

95.5% in 2024. Compare its verified historical internet-penetration series with Belgium.

GBR

United Kingdom

95.5% in 2024. Compare its verified historical internet-penetration series with Belgium.

AUT

Austria

94.9% in 2024. Compare its verified historical internet-penetration series with Belgium.

Explore the regional comparison →

Belgium in Europe & Central Asia

Among the 51 countries from Europe & Central Asia present in this verified 2024 dataset, Belgium ranks 11th. Its 95.8% observation is 3.8 percentage points above the regional median of 92%. This comparison only describes countries present in this same-year dataset.

Closest same-region observations: Spain (95.8%) · Sweden (95.5%) · United Kingdom (95.5%).

Source and methodology

Indicator: IT.NET.USER.ZS — Individuals using the Internet (% of population).

Source: International Telecommunication Union (ITU), World Telecommunication/ICT Indicators Database, surfaced through World Bank World Development Indicators (WDI), Indicators API v2. License: CC BY-4.0.

Values are kept at their official observation years. Missing years are not backfilled, averaged or interpolated. This page is a historical observation series, not a revision comparison.

World Bank API source → · Indicator metadata →

Keep exploring

Countries to compare with Belgium

Move through the 2024 ranking or compare Belgium with nearby values in Europe & Central Asia.

NEXT HIGHER

Australia

96.1% in 2024 · 0.4 percentage points higher than Belgium.

NEXT LOWER

Spain

95.8% in 2024 · 0 percentage points lower than Belgium.

REGIONAL PEER

Spain

95.8% in 2024 · 0 percentage points lower than Belgium.

REGIONAL PEER

Sweden

95.5% in 2024 · 0.2 percentage points lower than Belgium.

Explore Europe & Central Asia → · Compare all 182 countries →