VPN users to reach 1 Billion in 2021

Ability to be private and safe, or to access websites otherwise not accessible in the user’s country has driven millions of people to download apps to hide or change their identity.

While some think only those with bad intentions use VPN, many simply want to access services not available to them due to their location, like Twitter in Nigeria currently.

Based on data acquired by Finbold, it is projected that the number of VPN downloads globally might surpass one billion in 2021 driven by various factors such as the ongoing work-from-home trend, an increase in cyber-attacks, ability to access location-restricted services and the service’s overall rising popularity.

The projection represents a growth of 70.45% from the 616 million downloads recorded in the first half of 2021. Interestingly, the downloads in the first six months of 2021 are more than double the 2020 figure of 277 million.

During the first half of 2021, Middle East Countries dominated the percentage of the population using VPN. Qatar ranks in the pole position, with 44.47% of the population deploying VPN. The United Arab Emirates is second at 39.91%, followed by Singapore at 29.59%. In India, 25.27% of the population used VPNs in the first half of 2021, followed by Oman with a share of 24.79%.

Madagascar ranks lowest, with just 0.42% of the population using VPN while Japan accounts for a share of 0.85%, while South Africa has a share of 1.43%. Poland ranks as the fourth-lowest country in VPN usage at 1.7%, while Kenya has a share of 2.01%.