Online Shopping Usage by Country (2026)
What percentage of people in your country shop online? This indicator measures the share of adults aged 15-74 who have purchased or ordered goods and services through the internet, including e-commerce platforms, online marketplaces, and digital payment systems. Online shopping represents a crucial digital commerce skill that enables access to global markets and convenient purchasing options.
Online shopping usage reflects the ability and willingness to purchase goods and services through digital platforms, including e-commerce websites, mobile apps, and online marketplaces like Amazon, Alibaba, or local platforms. This includes completing transactions, using digital payment methods, managing delivery addresses, and navigating product catalogs. A rate of 60% means six out of ten adults have made online purchases, while four rely exclusively on traditional brick-and-mortar retail. These digital commerce skills are increasingly essential for accessing competitive prices, product variety, and convenient shopping experiences. As retail continues its digital transformation, the ability to shop online provides access to global markets, better deals, and products that may not be available locally. People without online shopping skills face limited product choices and potentially higher prices. Denmark leads globally with 81.7% of adults shopping online, followed by the United Kingdom (78.9%) and Norway (76.0%). These developed countries demonstrate exceptional e-commerce adoption, reflecting strong digital infrastructure, widespread internet access, and mature online retail ecosystems. Sweden (75.2%), Brunei (74.9%), and the United Arab Emirates (74.9%) also show very high adoption rates. These high-performing countries typically combine excellent logistics infrastructure, secure digital payment systems, consumer protection regulations, and cultural acceptance of online transactions. The COVID-19 pandemic significantly accelerated online shopping adoption globally, with many countries showing dramatic increases in 2020-2021 that have largely sustained through 2024. The COVID-19 pandemic created an unprecedented shift toward online shopping globally. Countries like Malaysia jumped from 29.6% (2019) to 62.3% (2021), while Greece increased from 23.4% (2016) to 46.8% (2021). This represents the largest retail transformation in modern history, forcing rapid adoption of e-commerce platforms and digital payment systems. Post-pandemic patterns show sustained elevated levels in most countries, suggesting permanent behavioral change toward digital commerce. Unlike other digital skills that partially declined after pandemic restrictions ended, online shopping has maintained high adoption rates as consumers discovered the convenience, variety, and competitive pricing of e-commerce platforms. Developing countries showed more modest but still significant increases, often constrained by payment system limitations, logistics infrastructure, and consumer trust in online transactions. However, countries like China (59.9%) and Russia (52.6%) demonstrated substantial growth, benefiting from domestic e-commerce platform development and improved digital payment systems. Multiple factors limit online shopping participation globally. Digital payment infrastructure is fundamental—secure and accessible payment systems are prerequisites for e-commerce adoption. Many developing countries lack widespread credit card usage, digital banking, or mobile payment systems necessary for online transactions. Logistics and delivery infrastructure significantly impact adoption rates. Online shopping requires reliable postal services, courier networks, and last-mile delivery capabilities. Rural areas and countries with limited transportation infrastructure face particular challenges in e-commerce adoption. Consumer trust in online transactions varies significantly, with concerns about fraud, product quality, and return policies affecting participation. Language barriers compound these challenges when e-commerce platforms are not available in local languages. Economic constraints limit access to devices and internet connectivity needed for online shopping. Additionally, cultural preferences for in-person shopping, product inspection before purchase, and cash-based transactions affect adoption rates in many regions. Projections for 2026 show varied patterns reflecting each country's unique e-commerce landscape and post-pandemic consolidation. High-performing developed countries like the United Kingdom (80.9%) and Denmark (77.6%) are approaching practical saturation levels with modest growth, as they have already achieved exceptional adoption rates. These countries benefit from mature e-commerce ecosystems and widespread consumer acceptance of digital shopping. Countries with older data show significant catch-up potential. Australia projects to 75.0% based on massive e-commerce platform expansion and improved digital payment systems since 2017. New Zealand similarly projects to 57.6%, reflecting the country's digital commerce development and improved logistics infrastructure over 17 years of e-commerce evolution. Emerging markets demonstrate diverse trajectories based on infrastructure development and e-commerce platform maturation. China stabilizes around 62.0%, reflecting market maturity after rapid growth. Russia projects to 55.0%, benefiting from domestic platform development and improved payment systems. Brazil continues steady growth to 47.8%, driven by mobile commerce expansion and improved logistics networks. Lower-performing countries generally show meaningful but constrained improvements. Countries like Mexico (29.0%), Indonesia (16.5%), and Egypt (39.0%) project steady growth reflecting e-commerce infrastructure development and expanding internet access. However, the digital commerce divide remains substantial, with many African and least developed countries projected to remain below 10% adoption through 2026 due to persistent payment system and logistics barriers. This analysis uses UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) data from ICT skills surveys across 98 countries (2002-2024). The data measures self-reported behavior among individuals aged 15-74 who purchased or ordered goods and services over the internet, including e-commerce transactions, online marketplaces, and digital service purchases. The 2026 estimates are indicative forward-looking assessments, not definitive projections or exact forecasts. They represent likely direction and relative magnitude based on individual country evaluation incorporating local context. For each country, we evaluated historical trends (computing year-over-year changes where multiple data points exist), e-commerce infrastructure development, digital payment system maturity, logistics and delivery capabilities, COVID-19 impact and recovery patterns, regional context, and data reliability. Countries with clear trends and recent data use those observed patterns as a foundation, while countries with limited or old data are assessed using regional benchmarks and comparable country analysis. All projections account for practical ceilings at high adoption levels (realistic maximum ~80-85%) and growth constraints based on infrastructure and payment system capacity. Values are rounded to reflect inherent uncertainty. All values represent estimated shares for 2026, not direct survey measurements. Rather than applying uniform formulas, each country receives individual contextual evaluation. Our process: (1) Compute historical annual change rates from available data points (e.g., if 2019: 40% and 2023: 60%, annual rate = +5%/year), (2) Evaluate whether this rate is sustainable given e-commerce infrastructure development level and payment system maturity, (3) Analyze digital commerce sector developments during the data period including e-commerce platform expansion (Amazon, Alibaba, local marketplace growth), COVID-19 acceleration of online shopping adoption, digital payment system development and mobile payment adoption, logistics and delivery infrastructure improvements, consumer protection regulation implementation, and mobile commerce platform proliferation, (4) Compare with regional context and comparable countries to validate reasonableness, (5) Adjust for baseline value and practical ceiling effects (higher baselines approaching 80-85% maximum), (6) Consider what happened in the country during any data gap—for countries with old data, we assess e-commerce sector development trajectory rather than assuming stagnation. Countries showing COVID-19 spikes (sudden increases in 2020-2021) are analyzed considering both pandemic acceleration and post-pandemic consolidation patterns. For countries with declining trends, we maintain or allow modest decline when economically justified. Specific data quality considerations: Multiple countries show COVID-19 impact with dramatic increases in 2020-2021 that have largely sustained through 2024. Malaysia, Greece, Croatia, and 12 other countries experienced 1.5-2x increases during pandemic lockdowns, with projections based on post-pandemic stabilization patterns rather than peak values. Fifteen countries have data from 2002-2018 (Australia, New Zealand, Chile, and 12 others). For these countries, we assessed 2002-2026 digital commerce sector developments: e-commerce platform emergence and global expansion, mobile commerce revolution and smartphone adoption, digital payment system development and fintech growth, logistics infrastructure improvements and last-mile delivery expansion, and consumer protection regulation evolution globally. These contextual factors are used qualitatively to inform direction and magnitude, not as precise quantitative inputs. Developed countries with old data project significant growth (e.g., Australia 62.8% to 75.0%, New Zealand 42.6% to 57.6%) reflecting 7-17 years of e-commerce transformation. Some countries show volatility in recent years (Türkiye, Ivory Coast) that may reflect changing survey methodology or economic factors rather than fundamental adoption changes. Denmark, United Kingdom, Norway approach practical adoption ceilings (75-85%). Even in high-adoption contexts, full participation is unrealistic due to age structure, digital literacy gaps, preference for traditional shopping, and economic constraints—realistic ceiling is 80-85%, not 100%.Understanding Online Shopping Usage
Online Shopping Usage by Country (2026)
1
80.9%
2
77.6%
3
76.9%
4
76%
5
75%
6
74.4%
7
74.2%
8
72.2%
9
72.2%
10
71.4%
11
71.2%
12
70.1%
13
70%
14
69.8%
15
67.2%
16
66.1%
17
66%
18
65.5%
19
65.4%
20
63.1%
21
62.7%
22
62.6%
23
62.4%
24
59.2%
25
58.4%
26
58.4%
27
57.6%
28
56%
29
55.6%
30
55.1%
31
54.2%
32
53.9%
33
53.9%
34
52.8%
35
51.3%
36
51.2%
37
50.7%
38
49.3%
39
48.9%
40
48.6%
41
48.1%
42
48%
43
47.8%
44
47.4%
45
47.1%
46
46.9%
47
45.9%
48
44.2%
49
42.7%
50
42.4%
51
41.1%
52
40.8%
53
39.1%
54
36.8%
55
34.7%
56
30.4%
57
30.1%
58
29.9%
59
27%
60
26.8%
61
24.8%
62
23.9%
63
21.4%
64
21.4%
65
21.3%
66
19.4%
67
17.9%
68
16.8%
69
16.6%
70
16.5%
71
16.2%
72
15.3%
73
15.2%
74
15%
75
14.8%
76
14%
77
13.5%
78
13.4%
79
13.3%
80
11.2%
81
9.7%
82
7%
83
5.5%
84
5.5%
85
5.2%
86
4.8%
87
4.7%
88
4.7%
89
4.4%
90
4.3%
91
4.1%
92
3.1%
93
3.1%
94
2.2%
95
2%
96
1%
97
1%
98
1%
Global Leaders in E-commerce Adoption
COVID-19 Transformation of Retail
Barriers to Online Shopping Adoption
2026 Projections and E-commerce Evolution
Online Shopping Usage by Country (2026)
#
1
78.9 (2020)
80.9%
2
81.7 (2024)
77.6%
3
74.9 (2022)
76.9%
4
74.0 (2022)
76%
5
62.8 (2017)
75%
6
73.4 (2023)
74.4%
7
72.2 (2022)
74.2%
8
69.7 (2023)
72.2%
9
76.0 (2023)
72.2%
10
75.2 (2024)
71.4%
11
74.9 (2023)
71.2%
12
66.1 (2023)
70.1%
13
67.0 (2023)
70%
14
66.8 (2024)
69.8%
15
70.7 (2024)
67.2%
16
69.6 (2024)
66.1%
17
65.0 (2023)
66%
18
69.0 (2023)
65.5%
19
62.9 (2023)
65.4%
20
66.4 (2024)
63.1%
21
66.0 (2023)
62.7%
22
59.6 (2023)
62.6%
23
59.9 (2022)
62.4%
24
56.7 (2023)
59.2%
25
61.5 (2023)
58.4%
26
55.9 (2023)
58.4%
27
42.6 (2009)
57.6%
28
59.0 (2024)
56%
29
58.5 (2023)
55.6%
30
52.6 (2023)
55.1%
31
53.2 (2023)
54.2%
32
51.4 (2022)
53.9%
33
49.9 (2023)
53.9%
34
49.8 (2018)
52.8%
35
48.3 (2023)
51.3%
36
48.2 (2014)
51.2%
37
49.7 (2023)
50.7%
38
48.3 (2023)
49.3%
39
45.9 (2023)
48.9%
40
45.6 (2015)
48.6%
41
50.6 (2023)
48.1%
42
45.0 (2016)
48%
43
41.8 (2023)
47.8%
44
49.9 (2024)
47.4%
45
46.1 (2023)
47.1%
46
43.9 (2023)
46.9%
47
48.3 (2023)
45.9%
48
41.2 (2023)
44.2%
49
44.9 (2022)
42.7%
50
39.4 (2023)
42.4%
51
38.1 (2022)
41.1%
52
38.8 (2024)
40.8%
53
36.1 (2022)
39.1%
54
33.8 (2020)
36.8%
55
31.7 (2023)
34.7%
56
27.4 (2021)
30.4%
57
27.1 (2023)
30.1%
58
26.9 (2023)
29.9%
59
25.0 (2023)
27%
60
23.8 (2020)
26.8%
61
21.8 (2021)
24.8%
62
20.9 (2023)
23.9%
63
18.4 (2023)
21.4%
64
18.4 (2023)
21.4%
65
18.3 (2023)
21.3%
66
16.4 (2023)
19.4%
67
14.9 (2021)
17.9%
68
13.8 (2022)
16.8%
69
13.6 (2022)
16.6%
70
13.5 (2023)
16.5%
71
13.2 (2023)
16.2%
72
16.3 (2021)
15.3%
73
12.2 (2023)
15.2%
74
12.0 (2023)
15%
75
11.8 (2021)
14.8%
76
11.0 (2021)
14%
77
10.5 (2016)
13.5%
78
10.4 (2023)
13.4%
79
11.3 (2018)
13.3%
80
9.7 (2020)
11.2%
81
8.2 (2023)
9.7%
82
5.5 (2022)
7%
83
4.0 (2023)
5.5%
84
4.0 (2012)
5.5%
85
3.7 (2023)
5.2%
86
3.3 (2024)
4.8%
87
2.7 (2014)
4.7%
88
3.2 (2012)
4.7%
89
2.9 (2019)
4.4%
90
2.8 (2012)
4.3%
91
2.6 (2009)
4.1%
92
1.1 (2023)
3.1%
93
1.1 (2020)
3.1%
94
1.7 (2016)
2.2%
95
1.5 (2023)
2%
96
0.1 (2017)
1%
97
0.2 (2020)
1%
98
0.3 (2006)
1%
Methodology and Data Sources
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What constitutes online shopping usage and why is it important for digital skills?
A: Online shopping usage refers to purchasing or ordering goods and services through the internet, including e-commerce websites, mobile apps, and online marketplaces. For example, a rate of 70% means seven out of ten adults have made online purchases, while three rely exclusively on traditional retail. These skills are increasingly important as retail continues its digital transformation. People with online shopping experience can access global markets, compare prices easily, find products not available locally, and enjoy convenient delivery options. In economic contexts, online shopping skills enable access to competitive pricing and broader product selection. The ability to shop online also provides access to digital-only deals, subscription services, and emerging retail models like social commerce and live shopping streams.
Q: Why do online shopping usage rates vary so dramatically between countries?
A: Online shopping adoption varies due to multiple interconnected factors. Digital payment infrastructure development is fundamental—countries with widespread credit card usage, digital banking, and mobile payment systems like Denmark (81.7%) and the United Kingdom (78.9%) show high adoption, while countries with cash-based economies show lower rates. Logistics infrastructure matters significantly; reliable postal services, courier networks, and last-mile delivery capabilities enable consistent online shopping experiences. The COVID-19 pandemic created dramatic but largely sustained increases in many countries as lockdowns forced e-commerce adoption. Consumer trust in online transactions varies culturally; some societies readily embrace digital commerce while others prefer in-person shopping and product inspection. Economic development affects both infrastructure and individual capacity to access online shopping platforms. Internet penetration and device ownership influence ability to access e-commerce platforms effectively. Lower-adoption countries like Malawi (1.1%) and Uzbekistan (1.5%) face multiple barriers: limited digital payment systems, poor logistics infrastructure, low internet penetration, language barriers in e-commerce platforms, and cultural preferences for traditional cash-based shopping. Additionally, the availability of local e-commerce platforms and government support for digital commerce significantly impacts adoption rates.
Data Disclaimer: Projected data (future years) are estimates based on mathematical models. Actual values may differ. Learn about our methodology →
Sources
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Updated: 28.01.2026https://databrowser.uis.unesco.org/browser/EDUCATION/UIS-SDG4Monitoring/t4.4/i4.4.1
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