I was interested to find out how many people in the world have access to the Internet and where they come from. I found exactly what I was looking for at Internet World Stats Web site, which lists Internet statistics including numbers of Internet users and their location. 

Here is a breakdown in terms of user numbers (as of 2008):

1. Asia is a clear number 1 with 657 million users (population 3.8 billion - penetration only 17%)
2. Europe follows way back with 393 million users (population 804 million - penetration 49%)
3. North America has 251 million users (population 338 million - highest penetration of 74%)
4. Latin America/Caribbean has 174 million users (population 581 million - penetration 30%)
5. Africa has 54 million users (population 975 million - not even 6 % penetration)
6. Middle East is close with 46 million (population 197 million - penetration 23%)
7. Oceania is last with 20 million Internet users in population of 34 million (penetration is 60%)

As expected, North America and Europe have the highest numbers of Internet users when comparing proportion of overall population of those continents using Internet; but Asia has the overall lead in user numbers, which is more than Europe and North America combined.

If we were to compare percentages of Internet users amongst all world regions, then Asia would be first with 42%, Europe 2nd with 25%, North America with 16% and Latin America with 11% and all the smaller regions making up the rest.

It is interesting to note that Africa and Middle East had the highest percentage jump in Internet users since 2000, with both registering over 1000% increase in 8 years.

Note: Penetration rates are based on population of 6.7 billion and 1.6 billion Internet users (24%).

We can conclude that almost a quarter of the world’s population is using the Internet today.