1.1 Quick facts about China's netizen population
1.2 Education structure of Chinese netizens
1.3 Age structure of Chinese netizens
1.4 Occupation structure of Chinese netizens
1.5 Income structure of Chinese netizens

2.1 Internet Access Locations
2.2 Broadband Technology Access
2.2 Mobile Technology Access

3.1 Most popular Internet applications in China
3.2 Fastest growing Internet applications in China

In July 2009, China's netizen population reached 338 million in July 2009, up from 298 million in December 2008 (13.4% growth in 7 months). China now has the largest online population of any country, including the United States. This data represents a 25.5% penetration rate across the country.

• By June 2009, Chinese netizens were spending an average of 18 hours per week on the Internet (up from 16.6 hours in December 2008). 39.5% of netizens are online six or seven days a week.
  
• 64% of netizens are under 30 years of age
• 31.7% of netizens are students
• 72.4% of netizens have a monthly household income of less than 2,000 RMB
• 71.7% are urban netizens, while 28.3% are rural.
  
  

Home is the most popular access point for Chinese netizens (80.2% of netizens), followed by Internet cafes (35.5%) and company offices (25.7%).

At the beginning of year 2009, China's telecommunications supervisor issued long-awaited third-generation (3G) mobile phone licenses to three mobile operators, a move that is expected to lead to billions of dollars being invested in building new networks.

The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) said China's biggest mobile operator, China Mobile, was awarded a license for TD-SCDMA, the domestically-developed 3G standard. The other two main carriers, China Telecom and China Unicom, received licenses for the US-developed CDMA2000 and Europe's WCDMA, respectively.
The 3G high-speed networks can handle faster data downloads, allowing handset users to make video calls and watch TV programs.The news would also benefit the 3G network equipment and cell phone manufacturers, including ZTE Corp, Wuhan Fingu Electronic Technology Co and Ningbo Bird Co Ltd.

The 3G cell phone sales would top 300 billion yuan ($44 billion) during the 2009-2011 period, Sinolink Securities analyst Chen Yunhong forecast.The merger marks the final move in the restructuring of the country's telecommunication industry, which saw six telecom operators rationalize into three: China Mobile, China Telecom and China Unicom.
The State Council, the country's Cabinet, approved the issue of the 3G licenses on December 31. MIIT pledged to issue licenses when the industry restructuring was accomplished.

3. Penetration of Internet Applications

3.1 Most popular Internet applications in China

The following table (Table 5) has been pulled from CNNIC's 24th Report, and it illustrates the usage rate of different applications across China's Internet population. Chinese netizens use the Internet primarily for entertainment, information, and communication. Business transactions (e.g. online shopping, investment, etc.) are less commonly conducted over the Internet. However, this segment of Internet applications is growing rapidly (18.8% growth in online shopping between December 2008 and June 2009).



3.2 Fastest growing Internet applications in China

Between December 2008 and June 2009 (6-month period), the following Internet applications experienced the fastest growth in usage rate:

• Online payment - 45.6% growth (76 million users in June 2009)
  
• Online shopping - 18.8% growth (88 million users in June 2009)
  
• Online gaming - 16.0% growth (217 million users in June 2009)
  
• Online music - 16.1% growth (289 million users in June 2009)
• Blog ownership - 13.6% growth (181 million users in June 2009)
• Online forums/BBS - 12.9% growth (103 million users in June 2009)
  
• Online video - 10.1% growth (222 million users in June 2009)

Another notable statistic: Between December 2008 and June 2009, the number of Chinese netizens making online travel reservations fell by 18.5%.


Metro China's Netizen Behavior
(From Forrester Research's Social Technographics Profile Tool)

Forrester Research's 2009 survey of Metro China categorizes netizens according to user behavior. The survey suggests a high number of Chinese Creators (users who contribute their own online content) and Critics (users who post online reviews and respond to others' online content). For definitions of each netizen category, see Forrester's presentation on the "Social Technographics Ladder".