The Global Online Commerce Divide: Who Buys Online in 2024
Making a purchase online — paying for goods or services via the internet or a mobile app — has become one of the most visible markers of digital economic participation. Yet the World Bank Global Findex survey, which asks adults whether they made or received an online purchase in the past year, reveals a deeply uneven landscape. Across 94 economies with 2024 data, the share of adults who buy online ranges from 74.4% in China down to 0.7% in Ethiopia.
This post ranks the economies where online shopping is most and least common, examines the growth trajectories since 2021, and explores the infrastructure gap that keeps e-commerce out of reach for most adults in lower-income countries.
The Leaders: Where Buying Online Is the Norm
The top of the online commerce table is dominated by East Asia and the Pacific, with China far ahead of every other economy. All figures below are observed 2024 values from the Global Findex survey.
| Global Rank | Economy | Adults who purchased online (2024) |
|---|---|---|
| 10 of 142 | China | 74.4% |
| 26 of 142 | Saudi Arabia | 56.2% |
| 30 of 142 | Malaysia | 54.0% |
| 31 of 142 | Mongolia | 53.6% |
| 36 of 142 | Ukraine | 51.5% |
| 39 of 142 | Poland | 49.9% |
| 41 of 142 | Thailand | 46.6% |
| 43 of 142 | Vietnam | 46.2% |
| 45 of 142 | Croatia | 43.5% |
| 46 of 142 | Kazakhstan | 42.8% |
China’s 74.4% is striking — it is nearly 20 percentage points ahead of second-ranked Saudi Arabia and sits well above other large East Asian economies. For context, China’s online purchase rate is roughly double that of the broader East Asia & Pacific regional average of 40.1%.
Several European and Central Asian economies follow closely, with Poland (49.9%), Croatia (43.5%), and Kazakhstan (42.8%) showing that online commerce is well-established across the continent’s middle-income economies. For the broader picture on digital payment adoption, see our report on the digital payments divide.
The Laggards: Where Online Commerce Has Yet to Arrive
At the bottom of the table, Sub-Saharan Africa dominates overwhelmingly. The ten lowest-ranked economies are all from the region.
| Global Rank | Economy | Adults who purchased online (2024) |
|---|---|---|
| 130 of 142 | Sierra Leone | 4.0% |
| 131 of 142 | Pakistan | 3.9% |
| 132 of 142 | Liberia | 3.6% |
| 133 of 142 | Chad | 2.4% |
| 134 of 142 | Malawi | 2.1% |
| 135 of 142 | Zimbabwe | 2.0% |
| 136 of 142 | Tanzania | 1.8% |
| 137 of 142 | Madagascar | 1.7% |
| 139 of 142 | Niger | 1.3% |
| 140 of 142 | Ethiopia | 0.7% |
At 0.7%, Ethiopia’s online purchase rate is roughly one-hundredth of China’s. The gap is not merely a curiosity — it reflects real constraints: limited internet penetration, underdeveloped payment infrastructure, and logistics networks that make last-mile delivery prohibitively expensive.
The Sub-Saharan Africa regional average is just 7.4%, compared to 40.1% in East Asia & Pacific and 28.0% in Europe & Central Asia. For context on how internet access underpins these differences, see our article on internet adoption as a fintech foundation.
Regional Snapshot
| Region | Average online purchase rate | Countries with data |
|---|---|---|
| East Asia & Pacific | 40.1% | 9 |
| Europe & Central Asia | 28.0% | 19 |
| Latin America & Caribbean | 17.2% | 16 |
| Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan | 15.5% | 11 |
| South Asia | 9.8% | 4 |
| Sub-Saharan Africa | 7.4% | 35 |
The regional averages reveal a clear income and infrastructure gradient. Even within regions, though, the variation is enormous. Brazil, at 41.7%, is the Latin American leader — close to the East Asian average — while Haiti and Nicaragua sit well below 10%.
Growth Trajectories: Where Online Commerce Is Accelerating
The Global Findex provides comparable 2021 and 2024 data points, allowing us to calculate compound annual growth rates. Several large economies show remarkable acceleration.
| Economy | 2021 | 2024 | CAGR |
|---|---|---|---|
| India | 8.3% | 16.2% | +25.1%/yr |
| Nigeria | 3.4% | 5.8% | +18.9%/yr |
| Indonesia | 18.2% | 26.3% | +13.0%/yr |
| Turkiye | 30.3% | 41.6% | +11.1%/yr |
| Kenya | 16.3% | 20.6% | +8.1%/yr |
| Vietnam | 40.4% | 46.2% | +7.0%/yr |
| Brazil | 34.7% | 41.7% | +6.3%/yr |
India’s 25.1% CAGR stands out. From just 8.3% in 2021 — roughly where Kenya sits today — India has almost doubled its online purchase rate in three years, driven by the expansion of Unified Payments Interface (UPI) and the rise of low-cost smartphones. For a comparison of payment methods in digital commerce, see our article on credit cards vs. mobile money.
What Drives the Divide?
The online commerce gap tracks several underlying factors:
- Internet penetration: Countries with below 30% internet adoption rarely see online purchase rates above 5%. Our article on the bill pay gap explores how digital infrastructure affects payment behavior.
- Payment infrastructure: Even where internet is available, adults need a means to pay — a debit card, a credit card, or a mobile money account. In Sub-Saharan Africa, mobile money has leapfrogged card networks, but most mobile money platforms are optimized for person-to-person transfers and bill payments rather than e-commerce checkouts.
- Logistics and trust: Online commerce requires delivery networks and consumer confidence in receiving what was ordered. Where these are weak, even digitally connected adults prefer to buy in person.
China’s dominance reflects strength on all three fronts: near-universal mobile payments (Alipay, WeChat Pay), dense logistics infrastructure, and a consumer culture that has made e-commerce the default shopping channel. For more on how mobile money and digital wallets are reshaping commerce in other parts of the world, see our analysis.
Sources & method
All figures are observed 2024 values from the World Bank Global Findex (indicator: made or received digital purchases online via mobile phone or the internet, % of adults age 15+), as compiled in FinStatGlobe’s derived country datasets. Each value is cited with its actual survey year. Regional averages are simple means of available country-level observations within each World Bank region. Compound annual growth rates (CAGR) are calculated from 2021 and 2024 observations only where both data points exist. Rankings are out of 142 economies with at least one observation for this indicator. See our methodology page for how derived datasets are built.