ResearchAll sizesGlobal
$27T
estimated e-commerce sales (almost $27 trillion) by businesses in 43 economies in 2022 (about three quarters of world GDP), most of it business to business
ResearchUpdated 23 Oct 2026
2.3Bpeople shopped online worldwide in 2021, up 68% from 2017
2.3B people shopped online worldwide in 2021, up 68% from 2017 (2021, UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD), UNCTAD e-commerce and digital economy estimates)
ResearchChecked at source, 23 Oct 2026All sizesGlobalE-commerce · Global e-commerce
In plain words
What this number really says
2.3B people shopped online worldwide in 2021, up 68% from 2017 (2021).
2.3B
the latest figure (2021)
Research
type of source
Why you can trust it. UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD), UNCTAD e-commerce and digital economy estimates: research, research firm or analyst compilation.
Key facts
- Period 2021
- Region Global
- Company size All sizes
- Next data Irregular
Source: UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD), UNCTAD e-commerce and digital economy estimates, 2021
Method and use
How it was measured, and how to use it
How it was measured
- Publisher
- UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD), UNCTAD e-commerce and digital economy estimates
- Source type
- Research: Research firm or analyst compilation
- What it measures
- 2.3B people shopped online worldwide in 2021, up 68% from 2017
- Data period
- 2021 (ends 31 Dec 2021)
- Published by the source
- 7 Jun 2024
- In the source's words
In 2021, 2.3 billion people shopped online, a 68% increase from 2017.
- Checked at source
- 23 Oct 2026: Read on unctad.org news page of 7 Jun 2024. value_numeric is in billions of people.
- Reuse
- Reuse with attribution (UN copyright). Cite UNCTAD; 2022 values are estimates.
- Next expected update
- Irregular (UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD), irregular)
- Original page
- unctad.org: UNCTAD e-commerce and digital economy estimates
- Data files
- CSV · JSON (stable links)
Full change log
No changes recorded yet. First checked at the source on 23 Oct 2026.
Cite this number
APA
UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD). (2024). 2.3B people shopped online worldwide in 2021, up 68% from 2017. Via digitaltreed, https://digitaltreed.com/statistics/ecommerce/global-online-shoppers
MLA
"2.3B people shopped online worldwide in 2021, up 68% from 2017." UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD), UNCTAD e-commerce and digital economy estimates, 2021. digitaltreed, https://digitaltreed.com/statistics/ecommerce/global-online-shoppers.
HTML link
<a href="https://digitaltreed.com/statistics/ecommerce/global-online-shoppers">2.3B people shopped online worldwide in 2021, up 68% from 2017</a> (UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD), 2021)
Embed the chart
This stat has no chart to embed yet. Link to this page instead: https://digitaltreed.com/statistics/ecommerce/global-online-shoppers
FAQ
Questions about this number
What is the latest figure for global e-commerce (Global)?
2.3B people shopped online worldwide in 2021, up 68% from 2017, for 2021, according to UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD), UNCTAD e-commerce and digital economy estimates. We checked it at the source on 23 Oct 2026.
Put this number to work
We help small and mid-size firms turn data like this into useful content, answers for customers and visibility in AI search.
Every number on this page was checked at its original source. Free to cite with a link to this page.