Topic: The dark web (2024)

Table of Contents
Tor – encryption at every stage Illicit activity on the dark web Job postings on dark web Do people know what dark web is? Key insights Editor’s Picks Current statistics on this topic Further recommended statistics Get the best reports to understand your industry Contact

The content on the World Wide Web is divided into three parts: surface web, deep web, and dark web. The surface web is the part of the internet content that is available to everyone via regular browsers. The deep web is hidden behind passwords, such as e-mail accounts, online banking accounts, and a great deal of other content that is not reachable via search engines. The dark web is a small part of the deep web. It represents the content posted on the darknets, which are censorship-resistant networks that enable private communication. The most well-known software for dark web access is the Tor network. Other examples of such networks include Freenet, I2P, and Riffle.

Tor – encryption at every stage

The Onion Router (Tor) was created in 2002. It is a free, publicly available software that enables anonymous communication online. It generates online content via an overlay network, a type of network that is layered over another network which makes tracking an individual’s online activity more difficult. Tor’s prominent concept is onion routing. This means routing the internet traffic through at least three relay servers and encrypting it at every stage. It allows each server only to see where the data came from and its next step.
Created in 2008, the Tor browser is widely used around the world. As of September 2023, more than two million people in Germany used Tor daily. As of September 2023, Germany had more than 50 percent of Tor users, while the United States ranked second, with around 13 percent. In the meantime, the highest number of those connecting Tor using bridges or non-public servers was registered in Russia.

Illicit activity on the dark web

The initial purpose of darknets, escaping surveillance, has in many ways helped people in countries where government censorship is a big concern. However, the dark web has very quickly become a place with more illegal content. Today, this part of the World Wide Web is mainly associated with the illicit trade of weapons, illegal drugs, various cyberattack services, forged documents, personal data and credentials stolen in cyberattacks, and illegal digital products.
In 2022, the total value received by darknet markets and fraud shops worldwide amounted to 1.5 billion U.S. dollars, down from 3.1 billion U.S. dollars in 2021. Furthermore, the share of illegal transactions in total cryptocurrency transactions worldwide in 2022 was 0.24 percent.

Job postings on dark web

Ever since the Covid-19 pandemic hit in 2020, people worldwide have lost jobs and turned to the dark web for opportunities to make money remotely. On dark web job markets, developers were on the highest demand. However, the highest median monthly salary of promised jobs on the dark web was for reverse engineers with almost 4,000 U.S. dollars.

Do people know what dark web is?

As of September 2023, search interest in the term “dark web” on Google Search was 60 out of 100 relative index points, which is down from its peak in April 2020. An October 2022 survey found that almost half of the responding adults in the United States said they were somewhat familiar with the dark web. On the contrary, 55 percent of adults said in another survey they did not understand the dark web. Moreover, on the global scale, 70 percent did not understand the dark web.

This text provides general information. Statista assumes no liability for the information given being complete or correct. Due to varying update cycles, statistics can display more up-to-date data than referenced in the text.

Published by Ani Petrosyan, Feb 29, 2024

Key insights

Daily number of Tor users
4.61 million

Topic: The dark web (1)

Detailed statistics

Daily number of direct Tor network connections 2023

Country with highest number of Tor users
Germany (2.22 million)

Topic: The dark web (2)

Detailed statistics

Markets with the highest daily number of direct Tor network connections 2023

Country with most Tor users through bridges
Russia

Topic: The dark web (3)

Detailed statistics

Markets with the highest daily number of indirect Tor browser connections 2023

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Topic: The dark web (63)

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Topic: The dark web (2024)
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