The number of internet users in China has increased by 19.92 million since January this year, reaching a total of 751 million in July. 54.3% of the Chinese population are now internet users, up 1.1 percentage points since 2016.

Those using internet on mobile has increased by 28.3 million since January, to reach 724 million by mid 2017. Non-exclusively, mobile internet users account for 96.3% of total internet users, up from 95.1 at the end of 2016.

Education & Employment 

Middle school graduates account for 37.9% of internet users, and those who have graduated high school account for 26.2%. Surprisingly, only 11.5% of internet users are degree level educated. 

The most common employment status for an internet user was “student” at 24.8%. The 2nd was “self employed” at 20.9%, closely followed by business and enterprise managers at 15.1%

• 15.8% of internet users earned between 2001-3000 RMB per month.
• 22.9% earned between 3001-5000 RMB per month
• 18.6% earned between 5001-8000 RMB per month
• Most other users earned less than 2000 RMB or less

The Urban/Rural Internet User Gap

26.7% of the rural population are now internet users, with an internet penetration rate of 34%. This brings rural internet users to a total of 201 million. Meanwhile, 73.3% of the urban population are internet users, bringing their total to 550 million. 

When it comes to network usage, the urban-rural gap between instant messaging penetration is only 2%. The gap for food delivery services is much higher however, at 26.8%. To find out more about how people in China are using the internet, click here.