The pie chart presents the distribution of online languages usage by percentage in December 2001, while the table details the annual growth of the global online population from 1997 to 2001.
The most prominent language used online in 2001 was English, with 43% of the total population of 529 million people. This was followed by Chinese, at 8.8%, and Japanese, with 8.9%. Spanish (6.5%) and German (6.8%) were also commonly used, while other languages such as Korean (4.6%), Italian (3.8%), and French (3.3%) represented a smaller proportion of online users. Dutch (2.1%) and Portuguese (2.6%) had the smallest shares.
From the table, it is evident that the number of people using the internet increased significantly over the five-year period. In August 1997, the online population stood at 76 million, which grew steadily to 513 million in August 2001. The percentage of the world population using the internet rose from 1.8% in November 1997 to 8.4% in August 2001.
A comparison of the years reveals a sharp increase in the number of internet users, especially from August 2000 (368 million) to August 2001 (513 million). This period saw the largest growth, coinciding with the rapid expansion of internet access and technology during those years.
In conclusion, English dominated online language use in 2001, while other languages like Chinese, Japanese, and Spanish followed. The internet user population grew substantially over the years, with a notable surge from 1999 to 2001.