When Finland became the first country in the world to declare broadband access to be a human right in 2009, Internet growth entered a new phase and marked another milestone in our astonishing obsession with the online world.
Only eleven years previously, in 1998, there were only three countries in the world which had 30% Internet take-up - New Zealand and Scandinavian neighbours Iceland and Sweden. Here is a brief overview of the rapid rise of global Internet coverage from 1998 - 2008, according to a recent study by the BBC.
1998: Scandinavia Leads the Way
While Scandinavia set the pace, North America was not far behind, with an estimated 84,587,000 users online in America and 7.5 million in Canada. By way of contrast, only 200 of the 68 million people in the Democratic Republic of Congo were connected.
1999: Growth of the Internet in Canada and America
America and Canada joined the 30% club in 1999, along with Australia, Finland, Switzerland and the Netherlands. There was also strong growth in Asia, in Japan and South Korea, while the UAE predictably led the charge in the Middle East. The only country to achieve more than 10% coverage in Africa and South America was Uruguay.
2000: Rise of the Internet in Chile
By 2000, South Korea was the most connected country per capita in Asia, while Chile took that honour in South America. European take-up was still relatively slow, with only Denmark and Austria having 30% coverage. Over in Africa, DRC users had multiplied to 3,000.
2001: European Internet Growth: Germany and the UK
The growth of the Internet in 2001 in Europe brought 30% coverage to the UK, Germany, Belgium and Estonia, while Japan and South Korea continued to lead the way in Asia. South African coverage rose above 10%.
2002: New Online Communities in Asia
2002 saw Malaysia and Indonesia join the 30% club, as well as Slovakia in Europe.
2003: Internet Usage - China and Russia Enter the Fray
While the main entrants to the 30% club in 2003 were European (Spain, France, Norway and Belgium), the more interesting statistics were further afield - China (79 million) and Russia (12 million) were destined to become senior players, while Zimbabwe was catching up its southern neighbour, and Iran's users almost hit five million.
2004: Africa's First Internet 30% User Country
Most of Europe is at least 30% covered by 2004, while the number of Russian users increases by more than 50%, Iran's more than doubles, and there is a new powerhouse in Africa: Morocco has three times more users than the previous year.
2005: Egypt Expands While the Balkans Lag Behind
The only European countries not reaching the 30% threshold are Albania, Bosnia, Greece, Macedonia, Romania, Serbia and Bulgaria, while Egypt joins the online revolution with more than 9 million people online.
2006: Brazil and Mongolia Outstrip China and UK
By 2006, Brazil has more Internet users than the UK, Mongolia more than China, while over in Africa, the Kenyans, Sudanese and Algerians have all caught up the South Africans.
2007: European and South American Stragglers
Europe is now very connected, with the two exceptions of Ukraine and Albania. South American is also seeing great progress, with the exception of Bolivia and Suriname. China's online community is just 212 million.
2008: The Rise of Russia, Turkey and Iran
Russia, Turkey and Iran take their coverage to over 30%, while Morocco is the only African country to do the same. There has been progress, too, in the Democratic Republic of Congo, although its 290,000 users represent just 0.45% of the population.
A cursory view of the year by year maps is instructive, and charts the seemingly unstoppable growth of the Internet. Finland's landmark legal right will be imitated, but the glaring opportunity for business enterprise, based on the statistics in the survey, has to be Africa, with only six countries having more than 15% coverage by 2008.
Paul Bradbury - Author of Hvar: An Insider's Guide to Croatia's Premier Island, and Lebanese Nuns Don't Ski
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