No sooner did we report that the Chinese internet user population was exploding than we received new numbers! On July 12, we cited the most recent statistics from the China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC) of 137 million internet users, second only to the U.S., where estimates of the current internet user population range from 165 million to 210 million. On July 18, CNNIC issued results from a survey conducted in June, announcing that there are now 162 million internet users in China.

The new figure represents the addition of 25 million people for an increase of more than 18% over the last six months, when the previous CNNIC report was issued. Measured annually, the number of internet users in China has risen nearly 32% over the last twelve months. And China’s internet penetration rate has now reached 12.3%, suggesting the potential for vast, rapid growth remains.