There are two key things to note about the sample structure of our core study:

We only interview people who use the internet. It's important to keep this in mind when using our data as the percentage of people with internet access varies globally, from highs of 90%+ in parts of Europe and North America to lows of around 40% in parts of Africa and Asia. This means the demographic composition of the online population can be very different from one market to the next.

Where a market has a high internet penetration rate, its online population will be relatively similar to its total population. Where a market has a medium to low internet penetration, its online population will be noticeably different to its total population. Generally, the lower the country’s internet penetration rate, the more affluent, educated, urban and young its internet users will be compared to the rest of the population.

We don’t interview people aged 15 or under as parental consent would be needed. Children also approach surveys differently to adults and wouldn’t be able to answer questions on many of the topics covered. That's why we run a separate study, GWI Kids, which looks specifically at internet users aged 8-15.

From 2009 to Q1 2024, our core study represented internet users aged 16-64 across all markets. Starting in Q1 2024, we began including respondents aged 65+ in select markets. We don’t interview 65+ everywhere because lower internet penetration rates among this group make it challenging to find enough respondents, especially in emerging markets. As internet use among 65+ increases, we plan to expand this to more markets. For more details on this approach and what it means for our data, check this article.