China's March 2020 Internet User Base Reaches 904 Mln
CNNIC, 4/23/20
China's internet user base reached nearly 904 mln in March 2020, up 49 mln from the end of H1 2019, among which the mobile internet user base (i.e. users who accessed the internet via mobile handsets) was approximately 897 mln, up over 50 mln from the end of H1 2019, according to data in the China Internet Network Information Center's (CNNIC) newly released March 2020 State of the Chinese Internet Report. Internet penetration reached 64.5% in March 2020, up 3.3 percentage points from the end of H1 2019 and up 4.9 percentage points from the end of 2018.
While this iteration of CNNIC's semi-annual State of the Chinese Internet Report would normally cover statistics through the end of December 2019, due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the deadline for responding to the telephone-based survey was extended to March 15, 2020; accordingly, unless otherwise specified, all statistics in the current iteration of the report correspond to the totals as of March 15, 2020. The telephone survey was conducted with residents of mainland Chinese aged six or above who had, at the time of responding to the survey, used the internet in the past six months.
The number of rural internet users in China reached approximately 255 mln in March 2020, up 30 mln compared to the end of H1 2019, and comprising 28.2% of China's total internet user base. The number of urban internet users in China reached approximately 649 mln in March 2020, up over 19 mln compared to the end of H1 2019, and comprising 71.8% of China's total internet user base.
In March 2020, China's rural internet penetration reached 46.2%, up 7.8 percentage points compared to the end of 2018, while urban internet penetration reached 76.5%, up 1.9 percentage points compared to the end of 2018.
As of March 2020, China had roughly 496 mln non-internet users, of whom 40.2% were living in urban areas, and 59.8% were living in rural areas. The main reasons China's non-Internet users gave for not using the internet included "Unfamiliar with how to use computers/internet" (51.6%), "Unfamiliar with how to use pinyin to input Chinese characters and/or other issues related to insufficient level of education" (19.5%), "Too old or too young" (14.0%), "Do not own a computer or other internet-connected device" (13.4%), "Don't have any need/interest in using the internet" (8.8%), and "Don't have time to use the internet" (7.3%).
The proportion of internet users accessing the internet through mobile handsets increased to 99.3% during the period from July 2019 to March 2020, up 0.2 percentage points from the end of H1 2019, while 42.7% accessed the internet via desktop computers, 35.1% accessed using laptops, 29.0% accessed using tablets, and 32.0% accessed using smart TV sets.
The following are the percentages of total internet users in China who accessed various online services during the 6-month period ending March 15, 2020:
Top Online Applications by Number of Users
| Application | Users (Mln) | Penetration | Growth Since End of H1 2019 | Growth Since End of 2018 | Change (ppts) in Penetration Since End of 2018 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Instant Messaging | 896.1 | 99.2% | 8.7% | 13.2% | 3.6 |
| Video (incl. Short Video) | 850.4 | 94.1% | 12.1% | 17.3% | 6.6 |
| Short Video | 773.3 | 85.6% | 19.4% | 19.3% | 7.4 |
| Payment | 768.0 | 85.0% | 21.3% | 27.9% | 12.5 |
| Search | 750.2 | 83.0% | 8.0% | 10.1% | 0.8 |
| News | 730.7 | 80.9% | 6.5% | 8.3% | -0.5 |
| Shopping | 710.3 | 78.6% | 11.2% | 16.4% | 5.0 |
| Music | 635.1 | 70.3% | 4.5% | 10.3% | 0.8 |
| Online Live Broadcasting | 559.8 | 62.0% | 29.2% | 41.1% | 14.1 |
| Gaming | 531.8 | 58.9% | 7.8% | 9.9% | 0.5 |
| Literature | 455.4 | 50.4% | 0.2% | 5.4% | -1.7 |
| Education | 423.0 | 46.8% | 81.9% | 110.2% | 22.5 |
| Online Take-out Delivery | 397.8 | 44.0% | -5.6% | -2.0% | -5.0 |
| Travel Booking | 373.0 | 41.3% | -10.8% | -9.0% | -8.2 |
| Car Hire | 362.3 | 40.1% | N/A | -7.0% | -6.9 |
| Internet Wealth Management | 163.6 | 18.1% | -3.6% | 8.1% | -0.2 |
CNNIC's Online Live Streaming category, which previously included only live sports streaming, reality show streaming, gamecasting, and live concert streaming, was expanded for the current iteration of the report to also include e-commerce streaming. The current iteration of the report also consolidated the previously separate categories of Online Taxi Booking and Online Private Car Booking into a single category of Online Car Hire.
The following are the percentages of total mobile internet users in China who accessed various categories of mobile service during the 6-month period ending March 15, 2020:
Top Mobile Service Categories by Number of Users
| Application | Users (Mln) | Penetration | Growth Since End of H1 2019 | Growth Since End of 2018 | Change (ppts) in Penetration Since End of 2018 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mobile Instant Messaging | 890.1 | 99.2% | 8.5% | 14.1% | 3.7 |
| Mobile Payment | 765.1 | 85.3% | 23.1% | 31.1% | 13.9 |
| Mobile Search | 745.4 | 83.1% | 12.6% | 14.0% | 3.1 |
| Mobile News | 726.4 | 81.0% | 10.0% | 11.3% | 1.1 |
| Mobile Shopping | 707.5 | 78.9% | 13.8% | 19.5% | 6.4 |
| Mobile Music | 632.7 | 70.5% | 8.2% | 14.4% | 2.8 |
| Mobile Games | 528.9 | 59.0% | 13.1% | 15.3% | 2.8 |
| Mobile Literature | 452.6 | 50.5% | 3.9% | 10.3% | 0.3 |
| Mobile Online Education | 420.2 | 46.9% | 110.7% | 116.4% | 23.1 |
| Mobile Take-Out Delivery | 396.5 | 44.2% | -5.0% | -0.1% | -4.4 |
As of the end of 2019, China's total international internet gateway bandwidth reached 8,827,751 Mbps, up 19.8% YoY compared to 7,371,738 Mbps at the end of 2018. Of China's total international internet gateway bandwidth at the end of 2019, the country's three main telecom operators - China Telecom, China Unicom, and China Mobile - accounted for a combined 8,651,623 Mbps, China Science and Technology Network (CSTNET) comprised 114,688 Mbps, and China Education and Research Network (CERNET) comprised 61,440 Mbps.
China's International Internet Gateway Bandwidth (2013-2019)
| Year | Bandwidth (Mbps) | YoY Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2013 | 3,406,824 | 79.3% |
| 2014 | 4,118,663 | 20.9% |
| 2015 | 5,392,116 | 30.9% |
| 2016 | 6,640,291 | 23.1% |
| 2017 | 7,320,180 | 10.2% |
| 2018 | 7,371,738 | 0.7% |
| 2019 | 8,827,751 | 19.8% |
Editor's Note: The rapid spread of the COVID-19 epidemic in China from late January impacted penetration rates of various applications during the period. With many internet users sheltering in place or under mandatory quarantine and schools closed (starting from late January or early February), use of online travel booking and car hire services saw significant drops, while adoption of online education, e-commerce live-streaming, and online shopping applications jumped. Concerns over transmission of the virus through the handling of paper money drove a surge in uptake of online payment services, while worries about eating meals prepared and delivered by possible virus-carriers, as well as closure of many apartment complexes and communities to non-residents (i.e. deliveries possible only to the main gate, but not door-to-door), caused a decline in use of online take-out delivery services.
Keywords: H2 2019 wireless online short video online video e-commerce online payment online music online gaming online literature online travel food O2O interactive video car hire app financial services mobile information service online information service mobile education live streaming Internet mobile literature penetration online education instant messaging mobile payment mobile music mobile search CNNIC Internet users mobile Internet mobile internet users m-commerce online search mobile IM mobile gaming national statistics
Sending
