6. Size of the Internet
6.1 Computers on the Internet
The data presented here represents the number of hosts (computers) permanently connected to the Internet in New Zealand and globally. The information is derived from the Internet Domain Survey (IDS) which attempts to discover every host on the Internet by doing a complete search of the Domain Name System (DNS).2 The latest survey was completed in January 2003.
Changes to the number of "hosts" (computers) on the Internet is a "proxy" indicator for the rate of growth of the Internet. To be counted as a host, a computer must have its own Internet address (Internet Protocol or IP address) and be permanently and directly connected to the Internet. Home or business computers that use dial-up lines or connect through an ISP where an IP address is allocated temporarily from a pool of such numbers are therefore not counted. Consequently, it is reasonable to assume that there are many more Internet users than hosts, possibly by a factor of five or more.
Data relating to Internet users and usage should be treated with caution due to the evolving nature of the Internet, the variety of ways it can be accessed and the difficulty in gathering reliable data. Over time, information collected has become less reliable because an increasing proportion of organisations now restrict access to their domain data.
A more serious problem with collecting this type of information is that most, if not all, corporate networks are screened off from the Internet behind a firewall, usually a single computer which acts as a single channel for all information flowing between the wider Internet and the corporate network. This can mean that a private network with hundreds or even thousands of computers connected may appear to the outside world as just a handful of IP addresses. Unfortunately the methodology used for collecting data is unable to correct for this effect.
Figure 6.1.1 shows the growth in the number of hosts connected to the Internet world-wide, from July 1991 to January 2003. The use of two scales allows the number of hosts in the .nzccTLD3 to be graphed alongside the world-wide data despite the substantial difference in the actual numbers.
The graph shows a continuous increase in the number of Internet hosts world-wide. The number of hosts in New Zealand has also increased rapidly although it appeared to plateau from 1996 to 1997 and actually fell slightly in 1998. It is likely that this anomaly is due to increased use of firewalls by New Zealand corporate networks at the time, as explained above. As of January 2003 there was a total of 171,638,297 hosts world-wide, of which 432,957 were in .nz.
Figure 6.1.1: Growth in Internet Hosts - New Zealand and the World
(IDS)
→ Figure 6.1.1: Growth in Internet Hosts - New Zealand and the World - Table
Figure 6.1.2 is based on similar data to that in Figure 6.1.1 and shows the number of Internet hosts per 1000 population for eleven countries or economies (including Hong Kong from 1998).4 The data is derived from the Internet Domain Survey (IDS). The figures for the United States have been adjusted to take account of the fact that, unlike other countries, the vast majority of hosts in the United States are registered in gTLDs rather than ccTLDs.
Figure 6.1.2: Number of Internet Hosts per 1,000 Population
(IDS)
→ Figure 6.1.2: Number of Internet Hosts per 1,000 Population - Table
Figure 6.1.3 is based on data for OECD members as of July 2001 (OECD 2002) derived by a different methodology from those in Figure 6.1.2. It shows ten of the same eleven countries (Hong Kong omitted and Switzerland added).
Figure 6.1.3: OECD Countries by Number of Internet Hosts per 1,000 Population as of July 2001
(OECD 2002)
→ Figure 6.1.3: OECD Countries by Number of Internet Hosts per 1,000 Population as of July 2001 - Table
6.2 Domain Name Registrations
Information in this section is derived from figures compiled by Mark Davies of Victoria University of Wellington (Davies 2003a).
When an organisation connects to the Internet, it typically registers a domain name such as companyname.co.nz. The number of domain names registered provides an indication of the numbers of organisations with an Internet presence. Fourth and higher level sub-domains are not counted, thus med.govt.nz is counted but comms.med.govt.nz is not.
Note that the figures can be taken only as indicative of Internet activity rather than providing firm information about the number of organisations linking to the Internet in New Zealand. There are few restrictions on who may register in the .nz domain, especially the most popular second level domains .co.nz (commercial organisations), .org.nz and .net.nz. Some organisations have multiple registrations and some registrations are from overseas. Conversely, many New Zealand organisations have registrations in other domains, especially the generic top level domains (gTLDs), such as .com.
Figure 6.2 shows the number of domain names registered in .nz as a time series since January 1995. Growth has been steady and was particularly strong between the middle of 1999 and the middle of 2001. As of May 2003 there were 126,636 registrations.
Figure 6.2: New Zealand Internet Domains
→ Figure 6.2: New Zealand Internet Domains - Table
6.3 Types of Organisations on the Internet
Information in this section is derived from figures compiled by Mark Davies of Victoria University of Wellington (Davies 2003a).
Organisations are normally allocated domain names according to organisation type, with the penultimate part of a name (or second level domain), such as the "co" in name.co.nz used to categorise domains. The following second level domains are used in New Zealand:
| Second level domain | Normally used by |
| ac.nz | Tertiary educational institutions |
| co.nz | Companies |
| cri.nz | Crown Research Institutes |
| gen.nz | Individuals and organisations which do not fit the other categories |
| govt.nz | Central government agencies and local and regional councils |
| iwi.nz | Iwi organisations |
| maori.nz | Māori organisations |
| mil.nz | Military organisations |
| net.nz | Internet Service Providers |
| org.nz | Non-profit organisations and incorporated societies |
| school.nz | Schools |
Figure 6.3.1 shows the split of commercial (.co.nz) to non-commercial organisations (all other second level domain names shown above) since January 1995.
Commercial registrations have greatly outnumbered non-commercial registrations since January 1995. As of May 2003 there were 107,098 commercial registrations and 19,538 non-commercial registrations.
Figure 6.3.1: Commercial vs. Non-Commercial New Zealand Internet Domains
→ Figure 6.3.1: Commercial vs. Non-Commercial New Zealand Internet Domains - Table
Figure 6.3.2 shows the growth in non-commercial domain name registrations between January 1995 and May 2003.
The "all others" category includes .govt.nz, .ac.nz and .cri.nz, which were most significant in the early years of Internet development, the number of these registrations reached 1,830 by May 2003. Also included are .iwi.nz and .mil.nz, both with very low numbers of registrations. The significant increase in this category that occurred towards the end of 2002 was due to the introduction of the new domain .maori.nz in October 2002, which had 386 registrations in May 2003.
The rapid increase in registrations in .org.nz (to 7,177 in May 2003) shows increasing interest in the Internet by non-profit and community organisations, while the rise in .net.nz (to 7,823 in May 2003) reflects a growing number of organisations indicating their predominant interest in the Internet itself. In recent years there has also been increasing use of the Internet by schools as shown by the growth in .school.nz (to 1,936 in May 2003). The steady growth of .gen.nz has reversed with it falling to 772 in May 2003 (from 840 in April 2002).
Figure 6.3.2: Non-Commercial New Zealand Internet Domains
→ Figure 6.3.2: Non-Commercial New Zealand Internet Domains - Table
6.4 Organisations with World Wide Web Sites
Information in this section is derived from figures compiled by Mark Davies of Victoria University of Wellington (Davies 2003b).
The number of organisations with a World Wide Web (Web) site gives a better measure of the actual numbers of organisations actively involved in the Internet than does the number of domain names registered. Organisations will most commonly have just one Web site even if they have registered several domain names. The number of Web sites is estimated by counting all the domain names with the format: www.name.domain.nz. However, this only gives an estimate of the number of Web sites, as it over counts organisations using more than one address, excludes Web sites which do not start with "www" and does not take into account non-active Web sites.
Figure 6.4.1 shows the total number of Web sites in the .nz domain split into commercial (.co.nz) Web sites and non-commercial Web sites estimated in the way described above since February 1997. There were 98,852 Web sites in .nz as of April 2003 of which 83,018, or 84%, had been set up by commercial organisations.
Figure 6.4.1: New Zealand (.nz) Web Sites
→ Figure 6.4.1: New Zealand (.nz) Web Sites - Table
As noted in section 6.2, many organisations register names in the generic top level domains such as .com, rather than country code top level domains such as .nz. Figure 6.4.2 shows the numbers of Web sites per 1000 population (by probable location) as of July 2000 in the top 14 OECD countries, along with the OECD average (OECD 2001).
The disproportionate number of Web sites located in the US reflects a real digital divide between countries even within the OECD. While there are many factors at work here, it is probably due in some measure to businesses outside the US locating their Web content in the US where they find the best prices, services and (especially) network performance, including the availability and pricing of international bandwidth.
Figure 6.4.2: OECD Countries by Web Sites per 1,000 Population as of July 2000
(OECD 2001)
→ Figure 6.4.2: OECD Countries by Web Sites per 1,000 Population as of July 2000 - Table
The number of sites that provide secure services on the Web is probably the best measure of electronic commerce activity. Figure 6.4.3 shows the top twelve OECD countries, along with the OECD average, in terms of numbers of secure Web servers per 1 million population in January 2002, as reported by the OECD (OECD 2002). The data are derived from numbers of secure Web sites with third party certification suitable for encrypted credit card transactions over the Internet. Note that, unlike statistics that rely on domain names for an indication of country, the information in Figure 6.4.3 is based on the actual geographic address of the business.
New Zealand has a comparatively high level of use of secure servers by international standards, with the third highest number per capita behind Iceland and the US.
Figure 6.4.3: OECD Countries by Secure Web Servers per 1,000,000 Population as of January 2002
(OECD 2002)
→ Figure 6.4.3: OECD Countries by Secure Web Servers per 1,000,000 Population as of January 2002 - Table
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