Internet users in China hit 513 million, 60% still remain offline

Beijing - A new report published shows that the number of Internet users in China has hit 513 million, which is up from 298 million at the end of 2008. Although the increase is staggering, 60 percent of the population is still not connected.

Internet usage in China is a controversial issue. The People’s Republic of China has introduced dozens of Internet regulations and censorship systems. Many analysts say China’s complex Internet censorship is one of the most excessive and sophisticated in the world. Has that stopped the amount of Internet users? According to a report from the China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC), the number of Chinese Internet users has soared to 513 million in 2011. In December alone, the number of Internet users in the global economic powerhouse increased 12 percent. Although the figure has increased from 298 million at the end of 2008, there is still approximately 60 percent of the nation’s population remains offline. “Internet users over the past five years, boosting the size of the fast-growing categories of the population, Internet penetration is about to peak, while the other age groups and education levels of acceptance of the Internet speed is difficult to achieve a young and highly educated groups level, resulting in slower growth rate of Internet users in China,” the reported stated (via Google translation). The CNNIC also found in its report that micro-blogging, Weibo, akin to successful social networks Facebook and Twitter, has grown to be very popular. The number of Weibo users quadrupled in 2011 to approximately 250 million users. Sina Corp and Tencent Holdings host Weibo platforms, while Twitter remains blocked. Online shopping has boomed as of late. Online retailers, such as 360buy.com, Dangdang.com and Taobao Marketplace, garnered more than 194 million visitors. Internet analysis groups believe that China’s online shopping market will become the world’s largest by 2015. Other interesting data to note is that more than 356 million mobile phone users have browsed the Internet. The top three web services in China are instant messaging, online music streaming and search engines.