Nielsen//NetRatings found that the overall at-home global active Internet universe for a number of selected countries rose by more than 1.5 million users from April 2004 to May 2004.
Japan overwhelmingly exhibited the most growth by percentage and new active users, marking the second consecutive month of large swells to the country’s Internet population. France and Switzerland also made formidable gains, while Sweden lost more than 3 percent.
The U.S. continues to chip away at its 3 million user gain in March, posting losses in April and May.
| Active Internet Users by Country, May 2004, Home | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Country | April 2004 | May 2004 | Growth | Change |
| Australia | 8,441,341 | 8,510,814 | 0.82% | 69,473 |
| Brazil | 11,913,640 | 11,681,163 | -1.95% | -232,477 |
| France | 13,927,159 | 14,308,563 | 2.74% | 381,404 |
| Germany | 27,083,535 | 26,948,420 | -0.50% | -135,115 |
| Hong Kong | 2,558,576 | 2,555,144 | -0.13% | -3,433 |
| Italy | 15,832,124 | 15,821,701 | -0.07% | -10,424 |
| Japan | 30,793,813 | 33,166,276 | 7.70% | 2,372,463 |
| Netherlands | 7,994,859 | 7,833,391 | -2.02% | -161,467 |
| Spain | 8,338,762 | 8,474,442 | 1.63% | 135,680 |
| Sweden | 4,639,081 | 4,482,007 | -3.39 | -157,074 |
| Switzerland | 3,228,645 | 3,315,534 | 2.69% | 86,889 |
| United Kingdom | 21,093,948 | 20,955,636 | -0.66% | -138,312 |
| United States | 143,041,743 | 142,406,616 | -0.44% | -635,127 |
| TOTALS | 298,887,224 | 300,459,706 | 0.53% | 1,572,482 |
| Source: Nielsen//NetRatings | ||||
Nielsen//NetRatings has expanded its tracking system to include Internet applications, and calculates active users as the number of people that actually go online in a given month, rather than the number of people with access.