On the number of Web sites in the world

[2007: Click here for updated information on the size of the Web.].

2000

Researchers at the Online Computer Library Center (OCLC)claim that the Web now contains Some 7 million unique sites, a 50 percent increase compared to 1999's 4.7 million.

[Click here for a review of the 2001 OCLC report on the size of the Web].

40 per cent of these are public websites, i.e. sites that offer content that is freely accessible by the general public. 21 per cent are not open to all, while 38 per cent are provisional sites (unfinished sites, server default pages etc.)

In spite of the impression one can get from the public debate, the number of adult sites is not increasing. They continue to constitute about 2 per cent of the public Web (some 70,000 sites) according to OCLC.

Number of websites 1998 - 2000:

"The Web continues to grow at a substantial rate," says Ed O'Neill, manager of the OCLC Web Characterization Project. "But a comparison of the year-to-year growth rates suggests that the Web's expansion is slowing. This trend is even more pronounced in the public Web, which grew by about 80 percent between 1997 and 1998 but only by about a third between 1999 and 2000. Even in absolute terms, growth seems to be slowing: the public Web increased by 713,000 sites in the past year, compared to 772,000 sites between 1998 and 1999."

OCLC is a non profit, membership, library computer service and research organization dedicated to the public purposes of furthering access to the worlds information and reducing information costs.

• OCLC Press release

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