Internet Shutdowns Statistics 2026: Cost & Country

Internet shutdowns cost the global economy a record $19.7 billion in 2025 — a 156% jump from the year before (Top10VPN, 2025). Behind that dollar figure sits a human one: Access Now and the #KeepItOn coalition documented at least 313 deliberate shutdowns across 52 countries in 2025 — more than one for every day of the year, and the highest annual total ever recorded.

This page compiles verified statistics on internet shutdowns from 2023 through 2025: how many there were, which governments imposed them, what they cost, how long they lasted, and where a VPN does — and does not — help. Every statistic is attributed inline to its original source, with a full source list at the end. Where the two leading trackers count differently, we say so and give both numbers rather than cherry-picking.

Key Internet Shutdown Statistics at a Glance

These are the headline numbers. Each is expanded with context and a data table in the sections below.

Scale and frequency:

• 313 documented internet shutdowns in 52 countries in 2025 — a record (Access Now / #KeepItOn, 2025)
• At least one shutdown every single day of 2025 (Access Now / #KeepItOn, 2025)
• 283 shutdowns in 2023, up from 201 in 2022 — a 41% year-over-year jump (Access Now / #KeepItOn, 2023)
• 195 shutdowns in the Asia-Pacific alone in 2025 — roughly half the global total (Access Now, 2025)

Economic cost:

• $19.7 billion — global economic cost of shutdowns in 2025, up 156% year-over-year (Top10VPN, 2025)
• $7.69 billion — cost in 2024 across 167 major outages (Top10VPN, 2024)
• 120,095 hours of deliberate downtime in 2025, up from 88,788 in 2024 (Top10VPN, 2025)
• $11.9 billion — Russia’s share of the 2025 cost, the single largest of any country (Top10VPN, 2025)

Who is affected:

• 4.62 billion people — those living under some form of internet restriction in 2025, over half the world’s population (Surfshark, 2025)
• 650 million+ people knocked offline by major outages in 2024 (Top10VPN, 2024)
• 70 shutdowns in 21 countries coincided with grave human rights abuses in 2025 (Access Now, 2025)

Internet freedom:

• 14 consecutive years of declining global internet freedom through the 2024 assessment (Freedom House, 2024)
• 25 of 72 assessed countries restricted access during electoral periods (Freedom House, 2024)
• Political unrest replaced protests as the leading cause of new restrictions in 2025 (Surfshark, 2025)

Internet Shutdowns by Country and Year

Two organizations maintain the authoritative counts. Access Now, through the #KeepItOn coalition, tallies individual shutdown orders documented worldwide. Its annual reports show a relentless climb: 201 shutdowns in 40 countries in 2022, 283 in 39 countries in 2023, 296 in 54 countries in 2024, and a record 313 in 52 countries in 2025.

Year	Documented shutdowns	Countries	Most shutdowns	Runner-up
2023	283	39	India (116)	Myanmar (37)
2024	296	54	Myanmar (~85)	India (84)
2025	313	52	Myanmar (95)	India (65)

Source: Access Now / #KeepItOn annual reports, 2023–2025. Counts reflect figures as first published for each year.

India held the top spot for six straight years through 2023, when authorities imposed 116 shutdowns — 65 of them in response to communal violence, according to Access Now. That year’s total included a shutdown in the state of Manipur that ran for 212 days across 44 consecutive orders, cutting off roughly 3.2 million people. India’s count has since fallen — 84 in 2024, then 65 in 2025 — but Access Now still ranks it as the country imposing the most shutdowns of any democracy, every year on record.

Myanmar overtook India in 2024 and stayed there in 2025 with at least 95 documented shutdowns. Access Now reports that since the 2021 military coup, the junta has used shutdowns as an instrument of war: in 2024, 31 of Myanmar’s shutdowns coincided with documented grave human rights abuses and at least 17 correlated with airstrikes on civilians. Iran (34 shutdowns in 2023) and Palestine (16 in 2023) round out the historical top tier, the latter driven by conflict-related destruction of telecom infrastructure.

One important caveat: Access Now revises prior-year totals upward as additional shutdowns are verified. In its 2025 report it restated 2024 as 304 shutdowns in 55 countries — up from the 296 in 54 countries it first published. We show the as-first-reported figures in the table above and flag the restatement here so the trend line is read honestly.

Surfshark’s internet-restriction tracker counts differently again, focusing on new restrictions per year. It recorded 63 new restrictions across 17 countries in 2024 and 81 new restrictions across 21 countries in 2025, and ranks India as the single most restrictive country since 2015 with more than 120 cumulative cases. In 2025, two countries — Albania and Panama — imposed internet restrictions for the first time, a sign the tool is spreading beyond the usual repeat offenders.

The Economic Cost of Internet Shutdowns

Top10VPN’s annual Cost of Internet Shutdowns report is the standard reference for the economic hit. It combines outage duration, the number of people affected, and each country’s per-capita internet contribution to GDP to estimate losses. The trend is volatile in dollars but relentless in hours offline.

Year	Economic cost	Major outages	Countries	Hours offline
2023	$9.01 billion	196	25	79,238
2024	$7.69 billion	167	28	88,788
2025	$19.7 billion	212	28	120,095

Source: Top10VPN, Cost of Internet Shutdowns, 2023–2025.

2025 was the most expensive year Top10VPN has ever measured. The $19.7 billion total was driven overwhelmingly by Russia, which the report blames for $11.9 billion of the damage across 57 separate shutdowns and 37,166 hours of blackout affecting 146 million people, beginning with a major wave of disruptions in May. Venezuela ($1.91 billion) and Myanmar ($1.89 billion) followed. Myanmar and Equatorial Guinea each endured shutdowns that effectively ran the full calendar year.

2024 was, by contrast, a relatively cheaper year that still worsened underneath. Top10VPN pegged the 2024 cost at $7.69 billion — down from 2023’s $9.01 billion — even as the total hours of downtime rose 12%. Pakistan was the single most affected nation at $1.62 billion, ahead of Myanmar ($1.58 billion) and Sudan ($1.12 billion), and more than 650 million people were knocked offline. Critically, the report noted a 92.3% surge in hours of full internet blackout while hours of social-media-only shutdowns fell 26.1% — a deliberate shift, Top10VPN argued, by governments who had realized that citizens simply use VPNs to route around platform blocks.

The two count sets in this and the previous section will not match, and they are not supposed to: Access Now counts shutdown orders while Top10VPN counts major disruptions and splits them by region and network for its cost model. Read together, they tell one consistent story — more shutdowns, lasting longer, costing more.

The Longest Shutdowns on Record

Frequency is only half the picture. A single prolonged blackout can inflict more damage than dozens of brief ones, and the record-holders are measured in years, not hours.

Shutdown	Duration	People affected	Source
Tigray, Ethiopia (Nov 2020–early 2023)	787+ days	~6 million	Access Now / Africa Practice
Amhara, Ethiopia (Aug 2023–Jul 2024)	~11 months	Millions	Shega / Access Now
Myanmar (post-2021 coup, ongoing)	Full-year in 2025	Nationwide	Top10VPN / Access Now
Manipur, India (2023)	212 days	~3.2 million	Access Now

Source: Access Now, Top10VPN, Africa Practice, and regional reporting, 2023–2025.

Ethiopia holds the record for the longest internet shutdown in world history. The blackout in the Tigray region ran more than two years (over 787 days) from November 2020 into early 2023, according to Access Now and Africa Practice, cutting off an estimated six million people during a civil war. Ethiopia’s Amhara region then endured a near-year-long shutdown of its own, beginning on 3 August 2023 and only lifting across 19 towns and cities — including Bahir Dar, Gondar, and Dessie — over 13–14 July 2024, per local outlet Shega. Ethiopia’s 2023 losses ranked second-highest in the world at roughly $1.9 billion, Top10VPN estimated, and an earlier national 158-day social-media block cost it tens of millions in GDP.

Myanmar’s shutdowns are shorter in headline count but brutal in duration and intent. Because the junta imposes and re-imposes blackouts across conflict zones, Top10VPN classified Myanmar as one of only two countries (with Equatorial Guinea) whose 2025 disruptions effectively lasted the entire year. Access Now’s documentation that 17 Myanmar shutdowns in 2024 coincided with airstrikes underlines why duration matters: a blackout removes the ability to call for help, document abuses, or coordinate evacuation exactly when it is needed most.

Internet Freedom Is Declining Globally

Shutdowns are the most visible form of a broader retreat. Freedom House’s Freedom on the Net 2024 report, which assesses 72 countries covering 87% of the world’s internet users, recorded the 14th consecutive year of declining global internet freedom — a streak its 2025 edition extended to a 15th year.

Elections are now a primary trigger. Freedom House found that governments in at least 25 of the 72 assessed countries cut off internet access, restricted social media platforms, or blocked political, social, and religious websites during electoral periods — often explicitly to shape outcomes. Conditions deteriorated in 27 countries and improved in only 18. Kyrgyzstan posted the largest single-year decline (−4 on the report’s 100-point scale), followed by Azerbaijan, Belarus, Iraq, and Zimbabwe (each −3). Iceland remained the freest online environment at 94/100.

Surfshark’s data adds the human scale: it estimates that 4.62 billion people — over half the global population — lived under some form of internet restriction in 2025, once long-running censorship regimes such as China and the UAE are included alongside acute shutdowns. Asia accounted for 56 of the year’s new restrictions across ten countries, affecting about 2.2 billion people, while Africa saw 20 new cases across eight countries affecting 344 million. Social media alone was the target of one in four new restrictions in 2025.

How VPNs Fit In — and Where They Don’t

This is where the statistics turn practical for travelers, remote workers, and journalists. A VPN is the primary circumvention tool during the most common forms of restriction — but it is not a magic wand, and being honest about the difference matters.

What a VPN circumvents. The largest and fastest-growing category of restriction is not a total blackout — it is the targeted blocking of specific platforms and websites, plus deliberate throttling. A VPN routes your traffic through an encrypted tunnel to a server outside the filtered network, so a block on X, WhatsApp, Instagram, or a news site simply stops applying to you. This is why VPN demand spikes within hours of a platform ban. Top10VPN’s live tracker measured demand in Pakistan rising 131% two days after the February 2024 block on X, then 253% during the November 2024 PTI protests; Surfshark reported a 300–400% jump in new-user acquisition in the same market.

Restriction event	VPN demand change	Source
Pakistan — X (Twitter) block (Feb 2024)	+131% in two days	Top10VPN live tracker
Pakistan — PTI protests (Nov 2024)	+253%	Top10VPN live tracker
Turkey — opposition detention (Mar 2025)	+188% overall; Proton VPN signups +1,100%	Top10VPN / Proton VPN
Pakistan — social-media block (2023)	+846%	Top10VPN live tracker

Source: Top10VPN VPN Demand Statistics and Proton VPN, 2023–2025.

What a VPN cannot do. During a total network blackout — when a government orders carriers to cut mobile data or physically disables infrastructure — there is no connection left to tunnel through, and a VPN cannot help. In those cases only a separate network path (satellite, or crossing into range of an unaffected carrier) restores access. The practical takeaway from the data is simple and it is the honest one: install and test your VPN before you enter a high-risk country. App stores and VPN provider websites are routinely blocked the moment restrictions begin, so the tool you did not download in advance is the tool you cannot get.

For travelers and digital nomads spending time in the markets that appear repeatedly in these reports — India, Turkey, Pakistan, and the wider censorship-heavy regions covered in our countries that need a VPN guide — the three providers below are the ones built for restrictive networks. Each runs obfuscated (“stealth”) servers that disguise VPN traffic as ordinary HTTPS, the feature that keeps them working where basic VPNs are detected and blocked.

NordVPN — our top pick for high-censorship travel. Obfuscated servers, an independently audited no-logs policy, and Threat Protection built in. From $3.09/month on the 2-year plan.

Surfshark — best value, and its Camouflage and NoBorders modes are purpose-built for restrictive networks. One subscription covers unlimited devices — useful when you are carrying a phone, laptop, and a travel partner’s gear. From $2.19/month on the 2-year plan.

Proton VPN — the circumvention specialist. Swiss-based, open-source, independently audited, with a dedicated Stealth protocol. Proton VPN recorded a 1,100% signup spike during Turkey’s March 2025 restrictions — the clearest real-world proof of its role during a block. From $2.99/month on the 2-year plan.

The Bottom Line: What the Numbers Mean for You

Running through the 2023–2025 data, three conclusions hold across every source.

First: shutdowns are getting more frequent, longer, and more expensive at the same time. A record 313 events in 2025 (Access Now), 120,095 hours offline, and a record $19.7 billion in losses (Top10VPN) are not three separate trends — they are one. The tool has moved from an authoritarian outlier to a routine instrument of governance in more than 50 countries a year.

Second: the type of restriction determines whether you can do anything about it. The majority and growing category — platform blocks, website blocks, and throttling — is exactly what a VPN neutralizes, which is why demand for VPNs spikes by triple digits within hours of a ban. A total network blackout is the exception a VPN cannot solve, and knowing that distinction is what separates a prepared traveler from a stranded one.

Third: preparation is the whole game. You cannot download a VPN after the block starts, because app stores and provider sites are among the first things blocked. If your work, safety, or reporting depends on staying connected in a high-risk market, the VPN you install and test today is the only one you will actually have when it matters.

For the country-by-country risk breakdown, see our countries that need a VPN guide and our deep dive on the best VPN for China, the world’s most sophisticated censorship regime. For the broader adoption picture, see our VPN usage statistics, and for the security case beyond censorship, our public WiFi security statistics. Planning a trip? Start with the best VPN for travelers and browse the full VPN guides hub or our wider digital nomad tools library.

If you are heading somewhere on these lists, set up a VPN before you go:

• Try NordVPN Risk-Free — 30-Day Guarantee
• Try Surfshark Risk-Free — 30-Day Guarantee
• Try Proton VPN Risk-Free — 30-Day Guarantee

This page contains affiliate links. If you purchase through our links, we earn a commission at no extra cost to you. See our affiliate disclosure for full details.

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Sources referenced in this article: Access Now / #KeepItOn, Rising Repression Meets Global Resistance: Internet Shutdowns in 2025 (2026); Access Now / #KeepItOn, Lives on Hold: Internet Shutdowns in 2024 (2025); Access Now / #KeepItOn, Shrinking Democracy, Growing Violence: Internet Shutdowns in 2023 (2024); Top10VPN, The Cost of Internet Shutdowns 2025 (2026); Top10VPN, The Cost of Internet Shutdowns 2024 (2025); Top10VPN, The Global Cost of Internet Shutdowns 2023; Top10VPN VPN Demand Statistics live tracker; Surfshark, Internet Shutdowns in 2025: Global Overview (2026); Surfshark, Internet Shutdowns in 2024: Global Overview (2025); Surfshark Internet Shutdown Tracker; Freedom House, Freedom on the Net 2024: The Struggle for Trust Online; Africa Practice, Digital Self-Sabotage: The Cost of Internet Shutdowns in Africa (2024); Shega and regional reporting on Ethiopia’s Amhara shutdown (2024); Proton VPN signup data (2025).

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Frequently Asked Questions

How many internet shutdowns were there in 2025?

Access Now and the #KeepItOn coalition documented at least 313 internet shutdowns across 52 countries in 2025 — a record, and more than one for every day of the year. Top10VPN’s separate accounting of major deliberate outages put the count at 212 events across 28 countries. The two figures differ because Access Now counts individual shutdown orders while Top10VPN counts major disruptions for its economic model; both organizations recorded 2025 as the worst year on record.

Which country has the most internet shutdowns?

Myanmar recorded the most internet shutdowns in the world in both 2024 and 2025, with at least 95 documented in 2025, according to Access Now. India led the global count for six consecutive years through 2023 (116 shutdowns that year) and still imposes the most of any democracy — 65 in 2025. Surfshark’s tracker separately ranks India as the number-one restricting country since 2015, with more than 120 cumulative cases.

How much do internet shutdowns cost the global economy?

Top10VPN’s Cost of Internet Shutdowns report estimates that deliberate government shutdowns cost the world economy $19.7 billion in 2025 — a 156% increase over the $7.69 billion recorded in 2024. The 2025 disruptions totalled 120,095 hours of downtime across 28 countries. Russia alone accounted for $11.9 billion of the 2025 total, the largest share of any single country.

What is the longest internet shutdown in history?

The blackout in Ethiopia’s Tigray region is the longest internet shutdown on record, lasting more than two years (over 787 days) from November 2020 into early 2023 and cutting off an estimated six million people, according to Access Now and Africa Practice. Ethiopia’s Amhara region endured a near-year-long blackout of its own from August 2023 to July 2024, and Myanmar’s post-coup military government has imposed shutdowns that effectively lasted the full year in 2025.

Can a VPN bypass an internet shutdown?

It depends on the type of restriction. A VPN can bypass the largest and fastest-growing category — social media blocks, website blocks, and deliberate throttling — because it routes your traffic through an encrypted tunnel to a server outside the filtered network. It cannot restore access during a total network blackout, when the government cuts mobile data or physical infrastructure entirely, because there is no connection left to tunnel through. This is why security researchers advise installing and testing a VPN before you travel to a high-risk country — app stores and VPN websites are often blocked the moment restrictions begin. NordVPN , Surfshark , and Proton VPN all run obfuscated servers designed to keep working on restrictive networks.

Why do governments shut down the internet?

Surfshark’s tracker identifies political unrest as the leading cause of new restrictions in 2025, overtaking protests, which led in 2024. Other common triggers are elections, active armed conflict, and — increasingly — preventing cheating during national school exams. Freedom House found that governments in at least 25 of the 72 countries it assessed cut off access, restricted social platforms, or blocked websites during electoral periods, and recorded the 14th consecutive year of declining global internet freedom.