China's internet still a promise for the future

Getty Images via DaylifeCNNIC's latest report on the staggering growth of the internet in China has made it too almost every news outlet in the world and seems for today the biggest story next to the Beijing Olympics. Having 253 million people online, with a growth that has slowed down a bit but is still impressive, is indeed a remarkable achievement.
A rundown of the figures by Ogilvy's Kaiser Kuo are here.

The penetration rate of 19.1%, (which assumes a total population of about 1.325 billion) compares with penetration rates of 71.2% in South Korea and 68.4% in Japan, which rank among the highest in the world. Chinese Internet penetration is marginally lower than developmentally comparable Russia, which stands at 20.8%. Iceland is highest at 85.4%, the U.S. has 71.9%, India only 5.3%. Total global Internet penetration is higher than China’s still, at 21.1%. But at current growth rates China should be at or above the world average by year’s end.

One of the facts that should be stressed very much if the fact that China's internet population is very young (68.6 percent is under 30-years old), and getting younger, and - compared to the more mature markets - earning relatively little. That means that the real perspective is still in a more distant future than the end of this year, up to the moment when both age and relative spending power have also matured.