New Study Looks at Online Global Porn Consumption

LOS ANGELES — A new joint report on global porn consumption has been released by  TheNextWeb and market research company SimilarWeb.

Key findings revealed that the majority of adult sites originate in Europe, while most of the traffic flow is coming from the U.S.

The report also said adult websites are responsible for 4.41 percent of all Internet desktop visits and porn ranks seventh on the list of leading categories, beating games and sports but trailing slightly behind computers and electronics.

It was also found that the social media channel driving the most traffic to adult websites is not Facebook as some would suspect, but rather reddit.com with 57.21 percent.

The study also found that porn drives more traffic than the online finance industry. Adult sites are also the fourth largest category in terms of traffic from display ads, coming in right after shopping with slightly more than 3 percent of the market share.

Somewhat surprising according to SimilarWeb’s analysis, was that the top two countries with the highest share of adult website use are Iraq and Egypt, followed by Europe and Japan, with Peru making up the Asian and South American contingent.

Middle-Eastern countries also ranked highest in average session times, topped by Asian countries. Interestingly, neither the U.S, U.K. nor Canada were significantly ranked.

Hong Kong dominated in terms of highest pages viewed per visit, followed by Northern Europe.

As far as search engines used to find porn are concerned, Google is by far the leader with 83.48 percent.

Countries with the smallest share of adult website use are the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait. Australia, New Zealand and Thailand also have a significantly small share.

Muslim countries had the highest bounce rate, and Russia topped shortest session time.

Related:  

Copyright © 2026 Adnet Media. All Rights Reserved. XBIZ is a trademark of Adnet Media.
Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission is prohibited.

More News

BranditScan Rolls Out 2 New Platform Features

BranditScan has introduced its new Traffic Optimization and Doxing Protection features for creators.

NMG Management Partners With Cosplayground to Scale Distribution

NMG Management has partnered with Cosplayground to expand the studio’s digital distribution and licensing operations.

Dreamcam Rolls Out 'Voice Translator AI'

Dreamcam has introduced a Voice Translator AI to its livestreaming platform.

UK Government May Limit 'Step' Porn Ban With New Amendments

The U.K. Ministry of Justice on Friday revealed new government amendments to the pending Crime and Policing Bill, potentially limiting a pending ban on “step” content to apply only if adult performers role-play as minors.

Arizona Senate Removes 'Catch-22' Provision From Consent Bill

The Arizona State Senate has amended a bill that would impose new requirements for adult content uploaded online, removing a seemingly contradictory provision that could have effectively made it impossible for adult sites to operate in the state.

Climaxx Media Launches Networking Platform

Climaxx Media has officially launched its new networking platform.

Italian Court in Aylo Case Limits International Reach of AV Rules

An Italian administrative court has ruled that Italy’s recently-enacted age verification rules for adult content may not currently be enforced against sites based in other EU member states, pending further procedural action under the EU’s Directive on Electronic Commerce.

OCC, FDIC Prohibit Use of 'Reputation Risk' by Regulators

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) on Tuesday issued a final rule codifying the elimination of ‘reputation risk’ as a criterion in their supervision of financial institutions.

Wisconsin Governor Vetoes Age Verification Bill

Gov. Tony Evers on Friday vetoed AB 105, an age verification bill that would have allowed anyone to sue adult content providers for damages over alleged failure to age-verify users in Wisconsin, with penalties of up to $10,000 per violation.

FSC Releases Statement on Wisconsin Governor Vetoing AV Bill

The Free Speech Coalition has released a statement on Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers' veto of the state's age verification legislation.

Show More