How Big Is The Internet? Here's How Much Data Is On It

Since its inception, the internet has evolved to become possibly the most impactful modern invention of our time. All of a sudden, people had access to the world at their fingertips. But, have you ever wondered how big that 'world' is? Consider this: Netflix has streamed over a million hours of shows, thousands of hours of YouTube videos have been uploaded, and innumerable images have been posted to Instagram in the time it takes to read this sentence. The World Economic Forum claims that's only one internet minute, and it's only going to get busier. 

So, how big is the internet, and how much data is out there? Well, the world had already made roughly 149 zettabytes (ZB) of data by 2024, and it's projected that by the end of 2025, that figure will be around 181 zettabytes. Some predictions speculate it will be slightly lower than that, at around the 175 ZB mark, but the difference is marginal. If you're curious as to what a zettabyte is, that's perfectly understandable given how large the figure is. In standard decimal units, one zettabyte is equivalent to one trillion gigabytes of data, putting it in the realm of numbers that the human mind can't quite comprehend the size of. This really gives you an idea of the scale you're working with when talking about the size of the internet.

In reality, trying to measure the size of the internet is like trying to measure the ocean with a bucket; it's not that simple. You can start with the "surface web," the part indexed by search engines, which the Worldwide Web Size Project puts at nearly four billion unique pages. But this method negates the vast expanse of data on the deep web: private databases, secure networks, app content, and everything else we can't reach with a Google search.

Another way to look at it is through data production. Exploding Topic says people create about 402 million terabytes of data every day. That works out to more than 147 zettabytes in a year — and that number is growing fast. Health IT explains it isn't just social posts or videos adding to the flood. Smart devices, wearable tech, connected cars, and cloud platforms all chip in, often in ways we don't even notice. Just a few more reasons to learn how to remove your personal data from the internet. 

Something that is often overlooked is that the internet's "size" isn't just about volume. A 2023 academic study pointed out the five Vs of big data — volume, variety, velocity, value, and veracity. By that measure, the world's biggest data producers aren't always social media companies. CERN's particle collider, for example, generates petabytes a day, rivaling what tech giants handle.

As much as we are disconnected from data, given its intangible nature, the numbers come with consequences. Data centers, whose sole purpose is to process and store most of this information, are incredibly high consumers of electricity and water. It's estimated that data centers around the world consume nearly 2% of the world's electricity, while large data centers can consume 5 million gallons of water a day. While some companies like Amazon are using reclaimed water to cool their data centers, this footprint will only get bigger with the constant expansion of global data. The wild part is that these centers don't even store all the data, with cloud storage handling a decent portion of it.

Sure, there are positives too, like how AI, personalized online shopping, and research are all powered by the oceans of data out there. But this in itself has its own set of caveats, like how to protect data privacy when using apps, how to use energy more efficiently, and how to keep the infrastructure from collapsing entirely.

The truth is that no one has a perfect way to measure the size of the internet. Whether you count stored files, daily streams, or replicated copies, the internet's "size" is always shifting. Ultimately, if there is one thing that everyone can agree on, it's that the digital world is not slowing down anytime soon. As we become more reliant on technology and data than ever before, the numbers will only keep on climbing.