Increasing Broadband Internet Penetration
In the OIC Member Countries
122
Table 60: Facebook users as regular internet users (2015)
Region Internet Users Facebook Users Facebook users as % of Internet users
Western Europe 195,230,709 98,992,670 50.71
Rest of Europe 369,232,406 213,950,740 57.94
North America 274,225,765 213.075.500 77.70
Latin America 338,482,028 297.638.420 87.93
Asia - Pacific 1,704,885,395 1.431.361.831 83.96
Sub-Saharan Africa 210,735,220 69.052.400 32.77
Saudi Arabia 21,048,009 9,682,084 46.00
North Africa 67,924,936 55.667.000 81.95
World 3,160,716,459 2.379.738.561 75.29
Sources: International Telecommunications Union; Owloo; Telecom Advisory Services analysisAs table 60 indicates, on a world scale, 75% of all Internet users are Facebook members as
well. This percentage reaches almost 88% in the case of Latin America. On the other hand, in
Saudi Arabia only 46% of Internet users are also Facebook members.
Other than social networking, Saudis tend to access the Internet to watch video programming:
73% of Internet users prefer either downloading programs or videostream content from the
Internet. Additionally, use of the Internet for searching information is quite common: 83% of
Saudi Internet users rely on the web as the first place to look for information versus 67% in
the United States.
On the other hand, some applications still have not achieved the adoption one might expect
given the level of Internet adoption. Of note is the use of electronic commerce. Only 21% of
Internet users appear to purchase goods electronically68. In 2015, only 0.83% of all retail
commerce in Saudi Arabia was conducted through electronic channels. A correlation analysis
of Internet penetration versus electronic commerce as a percentage of total retailing per
country indicates that Saudi Arabia is well below the correlation line (see figure 36).
68 Communications and Information Technology Commission. Individuals Report ICT Survey Results, 2015, p. 79.