Facts and figures.

How can I find out free demographic information about the people using the Internet?

• CyberAtlas ~ This is an immense collection of free information from a wide variety of sources about all facets of Internet usage. Fortunately, there's a search engine; otherwise, this site would be overwhelming. You can probably find some factoid here that will be incredibly useful to you -- you just need to look.
• Internet Usage World Stats ~ "An International website featuring up to date Internet Usage Statistics and 2004 Population Data for over 233 countries and regions of the world".
• Nielsen/Net Ratings ~ They want you to pay, but if you go to their home page, they've got links at the top to some great information. There's not a lot here, but it's very, very good, and very broad -- what are the most popular Web sites? How many people are using the Internet world wide? That sort of thing.
• Iconocast ~ A free newsletter focusing on e-Marketing. The archives of the newsletter are searchable. Uneven, but there are some pearls here.
• StatMarket ~ The data featured here comes from the HitBox log analysis service. It tends to come out with a new short, page-long article analyzing one trend every couple of months. Fortunately, there's an archive of all the articles. Worth checking out.
• The Bandwidth Report ~ "... a monthly roundup of broadband penetration figures from the US and elsewhere". I'm a little dubious about some of the figures, but there's a lot of info here.
• Nua ~ This excellent site, based out of Ireland, covers an enormous range of demographic material. In particular, the site has a notable international focus. We really cannot recommend it highly enough.
• University of Michigan Documents Center: Internet ~ An excellent collection of demographic resources, collected by the University of Michigan. There's an unbelievably comprehensive collection of statistical resources about every topic imaginable. Highly recommended.

I want historical information about people using the Internet.

• GVU's WWW User Surveys ~ From 1994 to 1998, the Graphics, Visualization & Usability (GVU) Center at Georgia Tech conducted in-depth surveys about Internet usage twice a year. The data makes fascinating reading, but it's now of historical interest only.

Are there for-a-fee services that provide demographic information about the people using the Internet?

• eMarketer ~ For $129 a month, or $1299 a year, you have access to what is essentially a clearing house for an immense number of demographic reports on a wide variety of subjects, from a plethora of different companies. There are some free excerpts on the site, but they're few and far between.
• Media Metrix ~ One of the oldest companies doing this sort of thing. Widely respected.

OK, one quick question: how many people are online?

• The World's Online Populations ~ This is an excellent resource from CyberAtlas. Highly recommended.

Where can I find free statistics about Internet users' browsers, plug-ins, and more?

• Nua ~ This excellent site, based out of Ireland, covers an enormous range of statistical material. In particular, the site has a notable international focus. We really cannot recommend it highly enough.
• TheCounter ~ This information is gathered from all the statistics coming in from all the users of TheCounter's log analysis service. Topics covered included JavaScript, Java, OS, browsers, resolution, & color depth. Data is monthly, going back all the way to January 2000. Quite useful.
• Browser News ~ A fantastic site that covers a variety of topics. In addition to presenting the data, gleaned from various sources, Browser News analyzes the data as well in a very user-friendly format. Highly recommended.

How about statistics about servers, domains, and other backend technologies?

• Inktomi WebMap ~ The study came out in January 2000, but it's still got useful information. Want to know what the most common page name is, other than default.htm, default.html, index.htm, index.html, and default.asp? Check this site (really just a page) out!

You know me: I'm a generalist. I want stats & metrics on a wide range of things having to do with technology.

• InternetNews Statistics and Metrics for IT Managers ~ Web traffic, cell phones, digital cameras, storage: if it's got something to do with technology, then there's something here about it.

Are there any maps of cyberspace?

• An Atlas of Cyberspaces ~ "This is an atlas of maps and graphic representations of the geographies of the new electronic territories of the Internet, the World-Wide Web and other emerging Cyberspaces."

Want to suggest a Web site we've missed, or let us know about a broken link? Email & let us know!

Note: These links lead to Web sites that are not under my control. I bear no responsibility for the content of these sites.