How Many Domains Are There

How Many Domains Are There? (Ultimate Domain Name Stats 2022)

The World Wide Web is extraordinarily wide. But exactly how many domains are there? 

It’s a difficult question to answer because of the varied methods of measuring and tracking them. However, we can get a good sense of the number of domains and the most popular ones by reviewing the available domain name statistics, facts, and data. 

To better understand how many domains exist, check out these domain name registration statistics.

⚡ Learn more about the World of Websites, check out our massive resource here ➜ How many websites are there? 🔥


Types of Domains

Domains are often defined by their root (also known as domain extensions).

According to the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) database, there are currently 1,591 registered domain root types (such as .com, .uk, etc.).

*Information last retrieved on 17 April 2022.


These include:

  • Top-Level Domain (TLD) or Generic Top-Level Domain (gTLD): TLDs, also known gTLDs, are the most generic category. These include all types of domains. 
  • Country-Code Top-Level Domain (ccTLD): These are defined by their country of registration (i.e. .de).
  • New Generic Top-Level Domain (ngTLD): These are newly registered in the database and may be atypical (i.e. .club). 
  • Geo New Generic Top-Level Domain (Geo ngTLD): These are newly registered, but have to do with location (i.e. .berlin). 

How Many Domain Names Are There?

Year Domain Names
Q2 2022351.5 million
Q4 2021341.7 million
Q4 2020366.3 million
Q4 2019362.3 million
Q4 2018348.7 million
Q4 2017332.4 million
Q4 2016329.3 million
Q4 2015314 million
Q4 2014 288 million
Q4 2013271 million
Q4 2012252 million
Source: The Domain Name Industry Brief

There are currently about 351.5 million domain names, registered in the world (as of June 30, 2022). This is a 9.8 million increase from Q4 2021.

While the number of domain names seems high, it’s not constantly increasing. There were declines as well.

For example, domain name registrations have actually decreased in the fourth quarter of 2021, compared to 2020. There were 24.6 million fewer registrations in Q4 2021, compared to Q4 2020.

Q4 2021, nevertheless, marked a 1.6 million (or 0.5%) increase year over year in overall domain registrations.

What Are the Most Popular Domains Worldwide?

Most Popular Top-Level Domains (TLDs) Worldwide As of June 2022

Most popular top-level domains (TLDs) worldwide as of June 2022
Source: Worldwide; W3Techs & Statista

As you can see, the most popular domains are a mixed group of generic and country-level sites. Based on the market share (among the top 10 million websites), the most popular domain continues to be .com with a 52.8% share.


ℹ️ Quick fact

What Is the Most Popular Top Level Domain?

.com is currently the most popular top-level domain with a 52.8% global market share.

.org (for organization) is next highest with 4.4% of market share, followed by:

  • .ru (for Russia) with 4.2%
  • .net (for network) with 3.1%
  • and .au (for Australia) and .uk (for the United Kingdom) with a 1.8% market share each

Top 10 Largest TLDs by Number of Reported Domain Names

Top 10 Largest TLDs by Number of Reported Domain Names
Source: Verisign Report Q2 2022

However, when calculated by the total number of reported domain names, the popularity of certain domains shifts.

Thus, .com continues to be #1 with 161.1 million, but others jump on the list including:

  • 20.6 million – .cn (for China)
  • 17.3 million – .de (for Germany)
  • 13.2 million – .net (for network)
  • 11.1 million – .uk (for the United Kingdom)
  • 10.6 million – .org (for organization) 
  • 6.3 million – .nl (for the Netherlands)
  • 5.7 million – .ru (for Russia)
  • 5.0 million – .br (for Brazil)
  • 4.2 million – .xyz


How Many .com Domains Are There?

.com continues to be the most popular of all available domain extensions. There were 161.1 million .com domain name registrations as of Q2 2022.


How Many .net Domains Are There?

.net continues to trail behind .com with a total of 13.2 million domain name registrations as of Q2 2022. 


How Many .org Domains Are There?

.org is the third most popular generic domain extension with a total of 10.6 million registrations as of Q2 2022.

.com, .net and .org are some of the most popular domains today. In total, they account for 184.9 million domain name registrations. This is a 3.9 million increase from 2021 (181 million, Q2 2021).


How Many ccTLDs Are There?

Currently, there are around 134.1 million ccTLD registrations. Overall, ccTLD domain name registrations decreased year-over-year, with 23.6 million fewer registrations than in Q2 2021. 

Top 10 Largest ccTLDs by Number of Reported Domain Names

Top 10 Largest ccTLDs by Number of Reported Domain Names
Verisign Report Q2 2022

In addition, there are 308 ccTLD roots in the database, with the top 10 accounting for 60.1% of all ccTLDs. The most popular ccTLDs include:

  • 20.6 million – .cn (for China)
  • 17.3 million – .de (for Germany)
  • 11.1 million – .uk (for the United Kingdom)
  • 6.3 million – .nl (for the Netherlands)
  • 5.7 million – .ru (for Russia)
  • 5.0 million – .br (for Brazil)
  • 3.9 million – .fr (for France)
  • 3.7 million – .eu (for the European Union)
  • 3.6 million – au. (for Australia)
  • 3.5 million – .it (for Italy)

How Many ngTLDs Exist? 

There are about 27 million ngTLDs in the world and those with new domain roots, account for 7.7% of all TLD domain name registrations.

In one 2022 study of ngTLDs, the #1 was .xyz with 5.05 million domain name registrations. Other popular ngTLDs include .online, .top, .shop, .site, .icu, .club, .store, .cyou and .vip

Leading New Generic Top-Level Domains (ngTLD) As of June 2022 (in millions)

Source: Statista

However, in another 2022 study of ngTLDs, the most popular domains appeared in a slightly different order.

ngTLDs as percentage of Total TLDs (as of Q2 2022)

 ngTLDs as percentage of Total TLDs  Q2 2022
Source: Verisign Report Q2 2022

ngTLDs market shares:

  • .xyz 15.7%
  • .online 6.9%
  • .top 6.4%
  • .icu 4.0%
  • .shop 3.9%
  • .site 3.7%
  • .store 2.9
  • .cyou 2.9%
  • .club 2.9%
  • .live 2.3%

Finally, the top 10 ngTLDs represent just over half of all ngTLD registrations.


How Many Geo ngTLDs Are There?

Finally, some new domain roots are related to geographic location. These geo ngTLDs often correspond to cities or regions. There are 67.5 million geo ngTLDs today. 

Geo ngTLDs as percentage of Total Geo TLDs (as of Q2 2022)

Source: Verisign Report Q2 2022

Currently, there are 51 geo ngTLDs with over 1,000 registrations. Of this group, the top 10 account for 69.8% of all geo ngTLDs.

Tokyo is the most popular geo ngTLD with 25%, but others include .africa, .nyc, .durban, .berlin, .london, .bayern, .amsterdam, .koeln and .paris.


Domains Continue To Dominate

Ultimately, there’s no one answer to how many domains exist today. While most estimates suggest there are 350+ million total, the statistics on different types of domains vary. 

As global business picks up post-pandemic, we imagine there will be even more domains. Be sure to check back on our Siteefy blog for more stats and updates! 


FAQ

Sources:
  • https://www.verisign.com/assets/domain-name-report-Q22021.pdf
  • https://www.verisign.com/assets/domain-name-report-Q42021.pdf
  • https://www.verisign.com/assets/domain-name-report-Q22022.pdf
  • https://www.statista.com/statistics/265677/number-of-internet-top-level-domains-worldwide/
  • https://www.statista.com/statistics/569300/gtlds-by-number-ob-domains/
  • https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200528005832/en/Internet-Grows-to-366.8-Million-Domain-Name-Registrations-at-the-End-of-the-First-Quarter-of-2020
  • https://www.iana.org/domains/root/db

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Nadia

Nadia is a content writer with a B.A. in English and Spanish from Northwestern University. She crafts content for a variety of industries, including tech and business.

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