China boasts a whopping 649 million Internet users, as of 2014, and 557 million are mobile users.
Just imagine what the number would be if the growth of China's Internet user base wasn't slowing. Last year brought an increase of 31 million Internet users. The growth of mobile Internet users in 2014 was nearly double, with 57 million going online.
What's even more amazing is that with more than 1 billion people in the country there are still hundreds of millions who do not have access. At the end of 2014, the Internet adoption rate in China was 47.9 percent. Over 40 nations have an Internet adoption rate of more than 70 percent, according to the China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC).
App use is also growing extremely fast in China. Mobile games and messaging apps are grabbing the biggest traction, with WeChat being one of the most popular apps. Nearly 100 percent of mobile users, 90.6 percent to be exact, are using a messaging app. Mobile travel booking apps are the fastest-growing category, enjoying an increase of 194.6 percent in usage.
Mobile payment and banking apps also saw an increase in usage. Mobile payment apps jumped 73.2 percent, with mobile banking apps use increasing by 69.2 percent.
Not everything related to the Internet is increasing, however. Microblog use in China dipped 11 percent.
The fast-growing Internet use in China is largely due to the growing adoption of smartphones in the country. Samsung and Apple are both targeting China and are growing in popularity. However Chinese smartphone companies have also been growing in popularity. These include Xiaomi, which is the leading smartphone brand in China, with a 16 percent market share.
The popularity of Xiaomi compared to the likes of Apple and Samsung is largely due to to the price difference between the brands.
The rise of Internet in China is likely to continue, however low cost devices will play an important part in this.
The growth in Internet use comes as China continues to tighten its Internet censorship laws, cracking down on virtual private networks which allow users to access websites that would otherwise be blocked by the government.
