VPN usage has shot through the roof in the last five years, with usage accelerating during the pandemic. With hundreds of VPN service providers active worldwide today, it is easy for misinformation about VPNs to spread.
Here are some exciting VPN statistics, usage, facts, and trends.
Top 6 VPN Statistics (Editor’s Pick)
- There were 785 million VPN downloads in 2021.
- 40% of workers admitted using work VPNs for streaming in 2022.
- 93% of organizations used a VPN service in 2021.
- KAPE Technologies is the largest VPN brand owner in the world.
- 62% of VPN users were male in 2022.
- 90% of popular VPN providers were founded after 2005.
Infographic
<a href="https://vpnalert.com/resources/vpn-statistics/" data-wpel-link="internal"><img src="https://vpnalert.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/top-vpn-statistics.png" alt="Top 6 VPN Statistics" width="768" border="0" height="593.05019305019" loading="lazy" fetchpriority="low" srcset="https://vpnalert.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/top-vpn-statistics-768x593.png 768w, https://vpnalert.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/top-vpn-statistics-300x232.png 300w, https://vpnalert.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/top-vpn-statistics-1024x791.png 1024w, https://vpnalert.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/top-vpn-statistics-1536x1186.png 1536w, https://vpnalert.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/top-vpn-statistics.png 1554w" sizes="auto"></a>
VPN Usage Statistics
1. Accessing restricted content was the main reason for VPN use among people in 2022.
Meanwhile, 50% of respondents subscribed to a VPN service to access restricted entertainment, while 34% wanted access to social networks and news services.
| Reasons for Getting a VPN | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Accessing restricted entertainment sites | 50% |
| Accessing social media and news sites | 34% |
| For anonymous browsing | 31% |
| Accessing blocked sites at work | 30% |
| Accessing generally restricted sites | 27% |
| To bypass government surveillance | 18% |
| To access the Tor browser | 17% |
2. Budget constraints were the biggest hindrance to VPN adoption in 2022.
Other cited challenges included reluctance by organizations to adopt VPNs and how VPNs can slow down system functionalities.
3. The rise in cybercrime was the biggest VPN adoption driver in 2022.
Other significant growth drivers included the proliferation of internet services, compliance regulations, and the growing adoption of BYOD enterprise models.
4. VPN use was still restricted in some countries as of 2022.
Notable nations that ban VPNs include Russia, United Arab Emirates, Uganda, North Korea, Iraq, Oman, and Belarus.
5. There were 785 million VPN downloads in 2021.
This was a 184% increase from the 277 million downloads in 2020.
Qatar had the highest VPN adoption in the world that year, with a 69.69% adoption rate, while Pakistan had the most VPN downloads.
| Country | VPN Downloads |
|---|---|
| Pakistan | 65,370,311 |
| Saudi Arabia | 12,760,979 |
| Algeria | 12,032,632 |
| United Arab Emirates | 5,886,566 |
| Kazakhstan | 5,195,865 |
6. 59% of Americans didn't think they needed a VPN in 2022.
Meanwhile, 22% found VPNs too costly, 20% were unsure of VPN benefits, and 21% considered setting up a VPN too complicated.
7. 6% of people used VPNs in 2022 to avoid pop-up ads.
While security and privacy took priority for most VPN users, about 65 active VPN users in 2022 wanted ad-blocking capabilities. Another 6% of respondents admitted using VPNs to protect their employer’s data.
<a href="https://vpnalert.com/resources/vpn-statistics/" data-wpel-link="internal"><img src="https://vpnalert.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/vpn-use-to-avoid-pop-up-ads.png" alt="6 Percent of People Use VPNs to Avoid Pop-up Ads" width="768" border="0" height="544.35912581217" loading="lazy" fetchpriority="low" srcset="https://vpnalert.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/vpn-use-to-avoid-pop-up-ads-768x544.png 768w, https://vpnalert.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/vpn-use-to-avoid-pop-up-ads-300x213.png 300w, https://vpnalert.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/vpn-use-to-avoid-pop-up-ads-1024x726.png 1024w, https://vpnalert.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/vpn-use-to-avoid-pop-up-ads-1536x1089.png 1536w, https://vpnalert.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/vpn-use-to-avoid-pop-up-ads.png 1693w" sizes="auto"></a>
8. 40% of workers admitted using work VPNs for streaming in 2022.
Despite having a VPN at home, 40% of workers admitted using their employer’s VPN for streaming. 16% used work VPNs for torrenting, 26% to access geo-blocked content, 42% for public WIFI security, and 47% for personal data protection.
9. 52% of iOS and 37% of Android users have a VPN subscription.
VPN use on desktops is less prevalent, with only 6% of Windows users and 3% of macOS users subscribing to VPNs.
10. Mobile owners use VPNs more frequently than users of other devices.
As of 2022, VPN subscribers with smartphones used VPNs more frequently than desktop VPN users. 42% of mobile owners used their VPN daily compared to 35% of desktop owners.
11. Spy alliances are driving up VPN usage.
There are surveillance alliances made of nations that seek to monitor their citizens’ online activities, which was responsible for driving up VPN adoption in 2022.
These alliances include the 5 Eyes, 9 Eyes, and 14 Eyes, as shown below.
| Five Eyes | The United States, the United Kingdom, New Zealand, and Australia. |
| Nine Eyes | The United States, Norway, the United Kingdom, Canada, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Australia, Denmark, and France. |
| Fourteen Eyes | Germany, the United States, Denmark, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, France, Belgium, Spain, Italy, Sweden, the Netherlands, Norway, and Canada. |
12. 93% of organizations used a VPN service in 2021.
As of 2021, over 90% of organizations adopted a VPN service as part of their cyber security measures. However, 72% of organizations had concerns that using VPNs may endanger the ability of their IT departments to secure private data.
13. The Finance industry led in VPN adoption at 22% as of 2021.
This was followed by Software and Internet (13%), Healthcare (11%), Manufacturing (10%), and Professional Services (9%).
14. The global VPN market amounted to $48.94 billion as of 2022.
This growth is expected to hit $59.73 billion by the end of 2023 and increase to $358.64 billion by 2032.
15. Businesses and other commercial entities accounted for 77% of VPN purchases in 2022.
Commercial VPN use contributed 77% of the total VPN revenue in 2022, with individual VPN purchases taking the remaining 23%.
North Americans made the highest number of VPN purchases contributing 37% of the $48 billion. Europe came second with 29%, Asia Pacific with 26%, Latin America with 5%, and the Middle East and Africa with 3%.
17. India was the largest VPN market in 2022 at $11.6 billion.
As of 2022, India had the largest VPN market, with revenue accounting for $11.6 billion. This makes it the leader of the top three VPN markets in the world, alongside Indonesia and China.
<a href="https://vpnalert.com/resources/vpn-statistics/" data-wpel-link="internal"><img src="https://vpnalert.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/largest-vpn-market.png" alt="India Was the Largest VPN Market by Revenue" width="768" border="0" height="544.35912581217" loading="lazy" fetchpriority="low" srcset="https://vpnalert.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/largest-vpn-market-768x544.png 768w, https://vpnalert.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/largest-vpn-market-300x213.png 300w, https://vpnalert.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/largest-vpn-market-1024x726.png 1024w, https://vpnalert.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/largest-vpn-market-1536x1089.png 1536w, https://vpnalert.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/largest-vpn-market.png 1693w" sizes="auto"></a>
18. KAPE Technologies is the largest VPN brand owner in the world.
As of 2023, KAPE Technologies owns ExpressVPN, Private Internet Access, CyberGhost, and ZenMate VPN. This makes it the largest VPN brand owner globally.
VPN Demographics
19. 35% of VPN users in 2022 were aged between 16 and 24 years.
This was followed by the 25-34 age group (33%), the 35-44 age group (19%), the 45-54 age group (9%), and the 55-64 age group (4%).
20. 62% of VPN users were male in 2022.
Women only represented 38% of all VPN users compared to 62% of men.
21. VPN usage in the Gen X group dropped in 2022.
People born between 1965 and 1980 gradually reduced their business VPN usage in 2022, dropping to 24% from 33% in 2021. Mass migration to Zero Trust Network Access was cited as the leading cause.
VPN Usage by Region
22. 88% of Americans were familiar with VPNs in 2022.
This is a slight rise from respondents surveyed in 2020, where 72% knew about Virtual Private Networks.
23. Japan had the lowest VPN adoption rate in 2022.
Japan had a 1.48% VPN adoption rate, the lowest among the 70 countries sampled in a 2022 survey. This was followed by Thailand (1.91%) and Nigeria (3.47%).
24. UAE and Qatar had the highest VPN adoption rate in 2022
43.18% of UAE citizens used a VPN in 2022, followed by Qataris (39.2%) and Singaporeans (37.11%).
25. Demand for VPNs rose by 1906% in Russia following the Ukraine invasion.
Russia is one of the few countries that banned VPN use since Putin signed a law that outlawed specific VPNs in 2017.
<a href="https://vpnalert.com/resources/vpn-statistics/" data-wpel-link="internal"><img src="https://vpnalert.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/demand-for-vpns-russia.png" alt="Demand for VPNs Rose in Russia Following the Ukraine Invasion" width="768" border="0" height="544.35912581217" loading="lazy" fetchpriority="low" srcset="https://vpnalert.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/demand-for-vpns-russia-768x544.png 768w, https://vpnalert.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/demand-for-vpns-russia-300x213.png 300w, https://vpnalert.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/demand-for-vpns-russia-1024x726.png 1024w, https://vpnalert.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/demand-for-vpns-russia-1536x1089.png 1536w, https://vpnalert.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/demand-for-vpns-russia.png 1693w" sizes="auto"></a>
26. Conflict increased demand for VPNs globally in 2022.
There was a 3056% increase in VPN use in Iran in September 2022 after the government clamped down on social media sites amid protests. There was a 17,075% spike in Sri Lanka, 3405% in Kazakhstan, 751% in Azerbaijan, 609% in Ukraine, 196% in Indonesia, and 84% in Armenia.
27. VPN market will grow by 12% in Japan and Canada by 2026.
Japan and Canada expect a 12% increase in VPN adoption by 2026.
The Chinese VPN market is also expected to hit $11.2 billion in the same period.
VPN Providers Stats
28. CyberGhost has the largest server network.
CyberGhost has the largest server network as of 2023, with 9000+ servers.
The servers are distributed across 91 countries and 117 locations.
29. NordVPN had a $1.6b valuation as of 2022.
As of April 2022, NordVPN valuation stood at $1.6 billion.
30. 90% of popular VPN providers were founded after 2005.
Additionally, 15 of these VPNs were founded between 2005 and 2013.
| VPN Service | Year Founded |
|---|---|
| HideMyAss | 2005 |
| ExpressVPN | 2009 |
| Private Internet Access | 2010 |
| CyberGhost | 2011 |
| NordVPN | 2012 |
| IPVanish | 2012 |
31. 21 million VPN user credentials were exposed in 2021.
Over 21 million confidential VPN user credentials were leaked in 2021 after a VPN server security breach. These IDs belonged to users of ChatVPN, SuperVPN, and GeckoVPN.
As of 2022, Cisco AnyConnect is the largest VPN service in the world, with a 28.6% market share. It was followed by Cisco VPN (25.51%) and Juniper VPN (10.62%).
Conclusion
Based on predictions for the future of VPNs, we expect widespread adoption by people and organizations globally.
Are you considering a VPN purchase? See these informative VPN guides to help you make an informed decision.
- https://www.go-globe.com/vpn-usage-statistics/
- https://www.gminsights.com/industry-analysis/virtual-private-network-vpn-market
- https://www.statista.com/statistics/1343693/worldwide-virtual-private-network-usage-limited/
- https://atlasvpn.com/blog/global-vpn-downloads-surge-3x-surpassing-780-million-in-2021
- https://www.security.org/resources/vpn-consumer-report-annual/
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- https://www.kape.com/our-brands/
- https://www.go-globe.com/vpn-usage-statistics/
- https://www.statista.com/statistics/1356937/vpn-awareness-united-states/
- https://atlasvpn.com/vpn-adoption-index
- https://atlasvpn.com/blog/vpn-demand-in-russia-surges-by-nearly-2-000-in-a-week
- https://www.statista.com/chart/28378/vpn-surge-by-country-in-2022/
- https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2022/06/20/2465464/0/en/Global-Virtual-Private-Network-VPN-Market-to-Reach-US-77-1-Billion-by-the-Year-2026.html
- https://www.cyberghostvpn.com/en_US/vpn-server
- https://techcrunch.com/2022/04/06/nord-security-the-startup-behind-nordvpn-raises-its-first-ever-funding-100m-at-a-1-6b-valuation/
- https://www.sysnet.ucsd.edu/~voelker/pubs/vpn-imc18.pdf
- https://www.malwarebytes.com/blog/news/2021/03/21-million-free-vpn-users-data-exposed
- https://www.statista.com/statistics/1258505/virtual-private-network-market-share-technology-worldwide/
