T-Index, the markets that matter on the web
Which markets offer the most potential for your website?
T-Index is a statistical index that shows online market share per country. It combines the Internet population and its estimated GDP per capita.
T-Index assists companies in identifying their target markets and in selecting the right languages to translate their websites. This helps ensure online success and increase localization-derived revenue.
The study was conducted by Translated, a language service provider that has offered professional translation services for over 10 years, helping its customers achieve the best ROI from their website translation investments.
The underlying criteria for the study are described below.
2015 T-Index Projection | NEW!
2011 Data summary
Sort by Country Sort by Language Sort by Region
| Trend 2015* |
Countries | T-Index 2011 |
T-Index 2015 Projection |
Languages | Internet population | Internet penetration |
GDP p.c. of Int. pop.** |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
(!) Restricted access to internet. * The arrows and the dash indicate the country's performance in the 2015 ranking. ** GDP per capita of the Internet population Note: The Internet population of North Korea and the GDP per capita of the Internet population of the Vatican were estimated by our agency. |
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USA | 24.4% | 16.8% | 1 | 245,000,000 | 78.2% | $57,627 |
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China (!) | 11.5% | 18.8% | 1 | 485,000,000 | 36.3% | $13,665 |
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Japan | 6.6% | 4.9% | 1 | 99,182,000 | 78.4% | $38,690 |
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Germany | 4.9% | 4.1% | 1 | 65,125,000 | 79.9% | $43,393 |
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UK | 3.7% | 2.7% | 1 | 51,442,100 | 82.0% | $41,429 |
| Localizing a website for these 5 markets gives you access to 50% of the worldwide online sales potential. | |||||||
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France | 3.4% | 3.3% | 1 | 45,262,000 | 69.3% | $43,529 |
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Brazil | 3.0% | 4.3% | 1 | 75,982,000 | 37.4% | $22,674 |
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Russia (!) | 2.9% | 3.7% | 1 | 59,700,000 | 43.0% | $27,909 |
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South Korea | 2.5% | 2.2% | 1 | 39,440,000 | 80.9% | $36,287 |
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Italy | 2.3% | 1.3% | 1 | 30,026,400 | 49.2% | $44,432 |
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Canada | 2.2% | 1.7% | 2 | 26,960,000 | 79.2% | $47,139 |
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Spain | 2.0% | 1.9% | 2 | 29,093,984 | 62.2% | $40,494 |
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Mexico | 2.0% | 2.0% | 1 | 34,900,000 | 30.7% | $32,862 |
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Turkey (!) | 1.5% | 1.8% | 1 | 35,000,000 | 44.4% | $24,198 |
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India | 1.5% | 1.9% | 2 | 100,000,000 | 8.4% | $8,396 |
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Australia | 1.4% | 1.2% | 1 | 17,033,826 | 78.3% | $48,558 |
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Taiwan | 1.3% | 1.1% | 1 | 16,147,000 | 70.0% | $48,027 |
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Iran (!) | 1.2% | 1.8% | 1 | 36,500,000 | 46.9% | $18,970 |
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Netherlands | 1.2% | 1.0% | 1 | 14,872,200 | 88.3% | $45,816 |
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Argentina | 1.1% | 1.5% | 1 | 27,568,000 | 66.0% | $23,608 |
| Localizing a website for these 20 markets gives you access to 80% of the worldwide online sales potential. | |||||||
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Poland | 1.1% | 1.3% | 1 | 22,452,100 | 58.4% | $27,306 |
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Saudi Arabia (!) | 0.78% | 1.2% | 1 | 11,400,000 | 43.6% | $39,398 |
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Indonesia | 0.72% | 0.87% | 1 | 39,600,000 | 16.1% | $10,480 |
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Colombia | 0.68% | 1.1% | 1 | 22,538,000 | 50.4% | $17,417 |
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Malaysia (!) | 0.67% | 0.66% | 1 | 16,902,600 | 58.8% | $22,772 |
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Thailand (!) | 0.64% | 0.79% | 1 | 18,310,000 | 27.4% | $20,135 |
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Sweden | 0.62% | 0.45% | 1 | 8,397,900 | 92.4% | $42,431 |
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Belgium | 0.61% | 0.56% | 2 | 8,113,200 | 77.8% | $43,626 |
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Hong Kong | 0.54% | 0.42% | 1 | 4,878,713 | 68.5% | $64,356 |
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Switzerland | 0.53% | 0.41% | 3 | 6,152,001 | 80.5% | $50,059 |
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Austria | 0.52% | 0.44% | 1 | 6,143,600 | 74.8% | $49,178 |
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South Africa | 0.47% | 0.33% | 2 | 6,800,000 | 13.9% | $39,627 |
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Singapore | 0.46% | 0.43% | 2 | 3,658,400 | 77.2% | $72,719 |
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Philippines | 0.44% | 0.65% | 1 | 29,700,000 | 29.2% | $8,477 |
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Egypt (!) | 0.43% | 0.65% | 1 | 20,136,000 | 24.5% | $12,248 |
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Norway | 0.42% | 0.35% | 1 | 4,431,100 | 94.4% | $55,011 |
| Localizing a website for these 36 markets gives you access to 90% of the worldwide online sales potential. | |||||||
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Venezuela | 0.40% | 0.57% | 1 | 10,421,557 | 37.7% | $22,442 |
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Nigeria | 0.40% | 0.63% | 1 | 43,982,200 | 28.3% | $5,276 |
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Chile | 0.40% | 0.36% | 1 | 9,254,423 | 54.8% | $25,013 |
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United Arab Emirates (!) | 0.38% | 0.44% | 1 | 3,555,100 | 69.0% | $62,025 |
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Czech Republic | 0.36% | 0.33% | 1 | 6,680,800 | 65.6% | $31,422 |
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Greece | 0.36% | 0.31% | 1 | 4,970,700 | 46.2% | $41,707 |
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Israel | 0.36% | 0.36% | 1 | 5,263,146 | 70.4% | $39,305 |
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Denmark | 0.34% | 0.25% | 1 | 4,750,500 | 85.9% | $41,352 |
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Peru | 0.33% | 0.41% | 1 | 9,157,800 | 31.3% | $20,684 |
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Portugal | 0.32% | 0.12% | 1 | 5,168,800 | 48.0% | $35,601 |
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Finland | 0.31% | 0.26% | 1 | 4,480,900 | 85.2% | $40,034 |
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Vietnam (!) | 0.31% | 0.44% | 1 | 29,268,606 | 32.3% | $6,074 |
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Ukraine | 0.30% | 0.41% | 1 | 15,300,000 | 33.9% | $11,194 |
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Hungary | 0.27% | 0.30% | 1 | 6,176,400 | 61.9% | $25,398 |
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Romania | 0.27% | 0.31% | 1 | 7,786,700 | 35.5% | $19,797 |
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Ireland | 0.27% | 0.20% | 1 | 3,042,600 | 65.1% | $50,608 |
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Pakistan | 0.21% | 0.29% | 1 | 20,431,000 | 10.9% | $5,877 |
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New Zealand | 0.20% | 0.13% | 1 | 3,600,000 | 83.9% | $31,600 |
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Morocco | 0.19% | 0.27% | 1 | 13,213,000 | 41.3% | $8,520 |
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Kazakhstan | 0.19% | 0.32% | 1 | 5,300,000 | 34.1% | $21,208 |
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Slovakia | 0.19% | 0.22% | 1 | 4,063,600 | 74.2% | $27,380 |
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Belarus (!) | 0.16% | 0.21% | 1 | 4,436,800 | 46.3% | $20,951 |
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Qatar | 0.13% | 0.15% | 1 | 563,800 | 66.5% | $134,330 |
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Kuwait | 0.13% | 0.12% | 1 | 1,100,000 | 42.4% | $67,806 |
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Bulgaria | 0.13% | 0.11% | 1 | 3,395,000 | 47.9% | $21,952 |
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Algeria | 0.12% | 0.21% | 1 | 4,700,000 | 13.4% | $15,358 |
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Ecuador | 0.12% | 0.17% | 1 | 3,352,000 | 22.3% | $21,003 |
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Dominican Rep | 0.12% | 0.18% | 1 | 4,116,870 | 41.3% | $16,846 |
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Tunisia (!) | 0.11% | 0.18% | 1 | 3,600,000 | 33.9% | $17,569 |
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Oman | 0.10% | 0.15% | 1 | 1,465,000 | 48.4% | $40,689 |
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Croatia | 0.10% | 0.10% | 1 | 2,244,400 | 50.1% | $26,285 |
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Serbia | 0.100% | 0.15% | 1 | 4,107,000 | 56.2% | $14,056 |
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Azerbaijan | 0.099% | 0.15% | 1 | 3,689,000 | 44.1% | $15,556 |
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Lithuania | 0.094% | 0.10% | 1 | 2,103,471 | 59.5% | $25,807 |
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Syria (!) | 0.086% | 0.15% | 1 | 4,469,000 | 19.8% | $11,148 |
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Slovenia | 0.083% | 0.074% | 1 | 1,298,500 | 64.9% | $36,930 |
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Uzbekistan (!) | 0.083% | 0.11% | 1 | 7,550,000 | 26.8% | $6,324 |
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Puerto Rico | 0.074% | 0.032% | 1 | 1,486,340 | 37.3% | $28,835 |
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Uruguay | 0.072% | 0.095% | 1 | 1,855,000 | 56.1% | $22,528 |
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Costa Rica | 0.071% | 0.074% | 1 | 2,000,000 | 43.7% | $20,587 |
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Cuba (!) | 0.066% | 0.13% | 1 | 1,605,000 | 14.5% | $23,651 |
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Luxembourg | 0.066% | 0.054% | 1 | 424,500 | 84.3% | $89,308 |
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Lebanon | 0.064% | 0.077% | 1 | 1,201,820 | 29.0% | $30,779 |
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Guatemala | 0.057% | 0.088% | 1 | 2,280,000 | 16.5% | $14,554 |
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Panama | 0.053% | 0.080% | 1 | 959,900 | 27.7% | $31,650 |
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Sudan | 0.052% | 0.070% | 1 | 4,200,000 | 9.3% | $7,122 |
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Latvia | 0.051% | 0.044% | 1 | 1,503,400 | 68.2% | $19,571 |
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Bahrain (!) | 0.045% | 0.049% | 1 | 649,300 | 53.5% | $40,267 |
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Sri Lanka (!) | 0.041% | 0.068% | 1 | 1,776,900 | 8.3% | $13,406 |
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Estonia | 0.041% | 0.031% | 1 | 971,700 | 75.7% | $24,174 |
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Cyprus | 0.040% | 0.026% | 1 | 482,420 | 43.1% | $48,008 |
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Jamaica | 0.037% | 0.030% | 1 | 1,581,100 | 55.1% | $13,461 |
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Bosnia-Herzegovina | 0.037% | 0.057% | 1 | 1,441,000 | 31.2% | $14,659 |
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El Salvador | 0.035% | 0.039% | 1 | 1,035,940 | 17.1% | $19,710 |
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Jordan | 0.035% | 0.053% | 1 | 1,741,900 | 26.8% | $11,571 |
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Trinidad & Tobago | 0.032% | 0.046% | 1 | 593,000 | 48.3% | $31,552 |
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Kenya | 0.032% | 0.049% | 1 | 3,995,500 | 9.7% | $4,657 |
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Brunei Darussalem | 0.032% | 0.033% | 1 | 318,900 | 79.4% | $58,325 |
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Bolivia | 0.031% | 0.046% | 1 | 1,225,000 | 12.1% | $14,830 |
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Paraguay | 0.030% | 0.048% | 1 | 1,104,700 | 17.1% | $15,676 |
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Macedonia | 0.029% | 0.036% | 1 | 1,057,400 | 50.9% | $16,080 |
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Albania | 0.027% | 0.050% | 1 | 1,300,000 | 43.4% | $11,938 |
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Macau | 0.025% | 0.031% | 1 | 280,900 | 49.0% | $50,756 |
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Georgia | 0.024% | 0.036% | 1 | 1,300,000 | 28.3% | $10,809 |
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Yemen | 0.023% | 0.023% | 1 | 2,349,000 | 9.7% | $5,708 |
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Honduras | 0.022% | 0.034% | 1 | 958,500 | 11.8% | $13,224 |
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Angola | 0.021% | 0.035% | 1 | 607,400 | 4.6% | $19,834 |
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Libya | 0.020% | 0.026% | 1 | 353,900 | 5.4% | $33,077 |
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Iceland | 0.019% | 0.014% | 1 | 301,600 | 97.0% | $36,838 |
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Armenia | 0.019% | 0.017% | 1 | 1,396,550 | 47.1% | $7,750 |
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Uganda | 0.018% | 0.033% | 1 | 3,200,000 | 9.2% | $3,309 |
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Mauritius | 0.017% | 0.021% | 1 | 290,000 | 22.2% | $33,845 |
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Ghana | 0.017% | 0.021% | 1 | 1,297,000 | 5.2% | $7,488 |
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Malta | 0.015% | 0.012% | 1 | 240,600 | 58.9% | $36,166 |
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Kyrgyzstan | 0.015% | 0.023% | 1 | 2,194,400 | 39.3% | $3,843 |
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Moldova | 0.014% | 0.020% | 1 | 1,333,000 | 30.9% | $6,255 |
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Bahamas | 0.013% | 0.021% | 1 | 155,820 | 49.7% | $47,265 |
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Iraq | 0.012% | 0.015% | 1 | 860,400 | 2.8% | $7,735 |
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Botswana | 0.011% | 0.015% | 1 | 121,600 | 5.9% | $52,908 |
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Bangladesh | 0.010% | 0.011% | 1 | 1,735,020 | 1.1% | $3,460 |
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Barbados | 0.010% | 0.014% | 1 | 188,000 | 65.6% | $31,102 |
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Kosovo | 0.010% | 0.021% | 1 | 377,000 | 20.7% | $15,489 |
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Nicaragua | 0.0094% | 0.013% | 1 | 600,000 | 10.6% | $9,059 |
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Montenegro | 0.0085% | 0.011% | 1 | 303,480 | 45.9% | $16,218 |
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Liechtenstein | 0.0074% | 0.013% | 1 | 23,000 | 65.3% | $186,275 |
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Jersey | 0.0070% | 0.0067% | 1 | 45,800 | 48.6% | $88,031 |
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Senegal | 0.0069% | 0.0093% | 1 | 923,000 | 7.3% | $4,344 |
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Cameroon | 0.0068% | 0.012% | 1 | 750,000 | 3.8% | $5,212 |
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Haiti | 0.0068% | 0.0091% | 1 | 1,000,000 | 10.3% | $3,909 |
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Nepal | 0.0067% | 0.0084% | 1 | 1,072,900 | 3.7% | $3,602 |
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Gabon | 0.0066% | 0.0083% | 1 | 98,800 | 6.3% | $38,612 |
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Andorra | 0.0064% | 0.0094% | 1 | 67,200 | 79.2% | $55,055 |
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Zambia | 0.0063% | 0.010% | 1 | 816,700 | 5.9% | $4,450 |
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Namibia | 0.0063% | 0.0077% | 1 | 127,500 | 5.9% | $28,469 |
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Cote D'Ivoire | 0.0063% | 0.010% | 1 | 968,000 | 4.5% | $3,741 |
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Guyana | 0.0059% | 0.0059% | 1 | 220,000 | 29.5% | $15,391 |
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Suriname | 0.0057% | 0.0081% | 1 | 163,000 | 33.1% | $20,181 |
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Mongolia | 0.0055% | 0.0070% | 1 | 350,000 | 11.2% | $9,132 |
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Laos | 0.0054% | 0.0083% | 1 | 527,400 | 8.1% | $5,957 |
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Tajikistan | 0.0052% | 0.0094% | 1 | 700,000 | 9.2% | $4,270 |
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Congo | 0.0051% | 0.0084% | 1 | 245,200 | 5.8% | $11,923 |
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Guernsey | 0.0046% | 0.0017% | 1 | 48,300 | 74.2% | $54,562 |
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Tanzania | 0.0039% | 0.0052% | 1 | 676,000 | 1.6% | $3,373 |
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Saint Lucia | 0.0035% | 0.0037% | 1 | 142,900 | 88.5% | $14,214 |
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Greenland | 0.0034% | 0.0027% | 1 | 52,000 | 90.2% | $37,970 |
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Cambodia | 0.0034% | 0.0034% | 1 | 329,680 | 2.2% | $5,950 |
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Zimbabwe | 0.0032% | 0.0030% | 1 | 1,422,000 | 11.8% | $1,315 |
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Afghanistan | 0.0032% | 0.0066% | 1 | 1,000,000 | 3.4% | $1,868 |
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Seychelles | 0.0031% | 0.0031% | 1 | 33,900 | 38.0% | $52,676 |
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Antigua & Barbuda | 0.0030% | 0.0038% | 1 | 65,000 | 74.0% | $27,118 |
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Maldives | 0.0030% | 0.0043% | 1 | 107,460 | 27.2% | $16,215 |
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Rwanda | 0.0030% | 0.0050% | 1 | 450,000 | 4.0% | $3,837 |
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Mozambique | 0.0027% | 0.0043% | 1 | 613,600 | 2.7% | $2,529 |
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Faroe Islands | 0.0026% | 0.0027% | 1 | 37,500 | 76.1% | $39,674 |
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Belize | 0.0025% | 0.0029% | 1 | 60,000 | 18.7% | $24,122 |
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Turkmenistan (!) | 0.0025% | 0.0036% | 1 | 80,400 | 1.6% | $17,755 |
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Malawi | 0.0025% | 0.0041% | 1 | 716,400 | 4.5% | $1,979 |
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Fiji | 0.0023% | 0.0021% | 1 | 120,640 | 13.7% | $11,048 |
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Cape Verde | 0.0023% | 0.0036% | 1 | 150,000 | 29.1% | $8,845 |
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Swaziland | 0.0023% | 0.0035% | 1 | 90,000 | 6.6% | $14,475 |
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St Vincent & Grenadines | 0.0019% | 0.0034% | 1 | 76,000 | 73.2% | $14,472 |
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Ethiopia | 0.0017% | 0.0028% | 1 | 447,300 | 0.5% | $2,151 |
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San Marino | 0.0016% | 0.0024% | 1 | 17,000 | 53.4% | $53,272 |
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Papua New Guinea | 0.0015% | 0.00047% | 1 | 125,000 | 2.0% | $7,059 |
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Monaco | 0.0015% | 0.0013% | 1 | 29,820 | 97.6% | $28,818 |
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Grenada | 0.0015% | 0.0016% | 1 | 33,040 | 30.5% | $25,758 |
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Bhutan | 0.0015% | 0.0021% | 1 | 53,280 | 7.5% | $15,956 |
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Chad | 0.0014% | 0.0020% | 1 | 187,800 | 1.7% | $4,378 |
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Madagascar | 0.0014% | 0.0023% | 1 | 320,000 | 1.5% | $2,523 |
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Mali | 0.0013% | 0.0021% | 1 | 250,000 | 1.8% | $3,055 |
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Gambia | 0.0013% | 0.0019% | 1 | 130,100 | 7.2% | $5,592 |
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Benin | 0.0012% | 0.00011% | 1 | 200,000 | 2.1% | $3,423 |
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Togo | 0.0012% | 0.0013% | 1 | 356,300 | 5.3% | $1,893 |
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Equatorial Guinea | 0.0012% | 0.0018% | 1 | 14,400 | 2.2% | $46,245 |
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Dominica | 0.0011% | 0.00094% | 1 | 27,500 | 37.7% | $24,061 |
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Dem Rep Of The Congo | 0.0011% | 0.0014% | 1 | 696,520 | 1.0% | $880 |
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Burkina Faso | 0.0011% | 0.0015% | 1 | 178,200 | 1.1% | $3,428 |
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St Kitts & Nevis | 0.0010% | 0.00091% | 1 | 22,140 | 44.0% | $26,825 |
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Eritrea (!) | 0.00076% | 0.0011% | 1 | 250,000 | 4.2% | $1,749 |
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Mauritania | 0.00066% | 0.00100% | 1 | 75,000 | 2.3% | $5,050 |
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Djibouti | 0.00063% | 0.00068% | 1 | 58,700 | 7.8% | $6,164 |
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Myanmar (!) | 0.00060% | 0.00043% | 1 | 110,000 | 0.2% | $3,170 |
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Lesotho | 0.00053% | 0.00067% | 1 | 76,800 | 4.0% | $4,015 |
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Guinea | 0.00041% | 0.00056% | 1 | 95,000 | 0.9% | $2,511 |
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Central African Rep | 0.00038% | 0.00038% | 1 | 94,440 | 1.9% | $2,347 |
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North Korea (!) | 0.00037% | 0.00061% | 1 | 50,000 | 0.2% | $4,300 |
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Vanuatu | 0.00035% | 0.00051% | 1 | 17,000 | 7.6% | $11,799 |
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Niger | 0.00034% | 0.00057% | 1 | 115,900 | 0.7% | $1,702 |
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Somalia | 0.00026% | 0.00018% | 1 | 106,000 | 1.1% | $1,433 |
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Tonga | 0.00026% | 0.00042% | 1 | 8,400 | 7.9% | $17,985 |
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Burundi | 0.00025% | 0.00029% | 1 | 157,800 | 1.5% | $919 |
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Sao Tome And Principe | 0.00025% | 0.000001% | 1 | 26,700 | 14.9% | $5,307 |
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Samoa | 0.00022% | 0.00024% | 1 | 9,000 | 4.7% | $14,387 |
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Solomon Islands | 0.00022% | 0.00021% | 1 | 16,200 | 2.8% | $7,863 |
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Micronesia | 0.00021% | 0.00018% | 1 | 17,000 | 15.9% | $7,038 |
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Kiribati | 0.00020% | 0.00016% | 1 | 7,800 | 7.7% | $14,841 |
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Comoros | 0.00018% | 0.00022% | 1 | 24,300 | 3.1% | $4,209 |
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Palau | 0.00016% | 0.00012% | 1 | 5,400 | 25.8% | $16,924 |
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Guinea Bissau | 0.00016% | 0.00017% | 1 | 37,100 | 2.3% | $2,447 |
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Sierra Leone | 0.00015% | 0.000099% | 1 | 40,480 | 0.8% | $2,087 |
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Cook Islands | 0.00014% | 0.000090% | 1 | 6,000 | 53.9% | $13,328 |
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Marshall Islands | 0.000047% | 0.000041% | 1 | 4,560 | 6.8% | $5,973 |
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Tuvalu | 0.000043% | 0.000057% | 1 | 4,300 | 40.8% | $5,783 |
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Vatican City State | 0.000041% | 0.000048% | 1 | 480 | 57.7% | $49,595 |
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Liberia | 0.000032% | 0.000062% | 1 | 20,000 | 0.5% | $938 |
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East Timor | 0.000023% | 0.000030% | 1 | 2,100 | 0.2% | $6,342 |
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Niue | 0.000012% | 0.000007% | 1 | 1,100 | 83.9% | $6,484 |
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Nauru | 0.000006% | 0.000001% | 1 | 300 | 3.2% | $11,945 |
T-Index Map
T-Index is a percentage value that indicates the online market share of each country on the Internet by combining the Internet population and its estimated GDP per capita. The higher the T-Index, the higher the online sales potential in a country.
Internet Censorship
In certain countries, translating your website content may not be enough to transform local Internet users into potential customers. Above is a map of countries currently imposing restrictions on Internet access.
T-Index for beginners
T-Index was developed to help companies identify their target markets and select the appropriate languages for translating their websites.
Choosing among different potential markets is not easy. T-Index helps identify the market-language combination most appropriate for your investment with regards to customer base and online sales potential.
With a T-Index of 24.4%, the Unites States is the market with the highest potential for online sales. As such, it comprises 245 million internet users worldwide with an average GDP per capita of $57,627.
Before localizing a website for any country, we recommend you fully understand the local market and country, to ascertain whether the market is accessible.
Have you considered the following?
- Demand for your product/service in the local market
- Adaptation of your product/service to local specifications, norms, and preferences
- Competition in the local market
- How your home country is viewed in the target market
- Consumption habits of local consumers
- Internet censorship in the local market (see the Internet Freedom Map)
- Online payment methods used in the target country
- Distribution costs import/export requirements for your product
Example 1
An English company has a website in English and Spanish and wants to translate it into one other language. After conducting a market analysis, the marketing manager determines that France, Germany, and Italy offer the highest success prospects for the company's products. Using T-Index, they quickly find out that Germany, with a market share of 4.9%, constitutes the market with the highest potential for online sales, as it comprises 65,125,000 Internet users that have an average GDP per capita of $43,393. Therefore, the T-Index has been the decisive factor in choosing the German language for the website translation.
Example 2
A U.S. company has a website in English and Spanish and wants to translate it into one other language. Having reviewed the T-Index sorted by language, the marketing manager soon discovers that Simplified Chinese, Japanese, and German are the languages with the highest potential for online sales in 2011. Upon clicking on the plus 
sign on the data summary table to obtain a complete view of the countries these three linguistic markets comprise, the marketing manager realizes, however, that the Chinese language market comprises two countries, whereas the German and Japanese languages each constitute only one country (Germany and Japan). After studying the local markets, the manager realizes that the website translation into Chinese may only be relevant for Singapore should an eventual censorship on its products come into play in China. On the other hand, there is no problem for the company in accessing the Japanese or German markets. This gives the following real values for each language:
- Chinese language: Singapore (0.14%)= 0.14%
- Japanese language: Japan= 6.6%
- German language: Germany= 4.9%
The Japanese language market share exceeds that of the German language. Therefore, the company chooses to translate its website into Japanese.
2015 Projection
To calculate the projection through 2015, we have extrapolated a line between the 2005 and 2011 data points using Simple Linear Regression*.
The projection assumes a linear growth trend for all countries. Should China sustain its 2005-2009 growth rate through 2015, it will overtake the United States. However, comparing 2005-2009 data with those of the past 2 years, it seems China's trend is slowing slightly, which may impact our 2015 projection. The 2012 T-Index will indicate whether these trends are continuing.
According to the T-Index projections for 2015, China, with a projected market share of 18.8%, compared to 11.5% in 2011, will overtake the Unites States. In addition, the United States will see its online sales potential drop from 24.4% in 2011 to 16.8% by 2015.
Japan will remain third overall despite a market share reduction of -25.7% compared to 2011.
Brazil, with an estimated market share change of +43.3%, will rise to fourth position by 2015, leaving behind Germany, down 16.3%.
Russia will move up two places to finish sixth overall, with a change of +27.5%.
France will drop one position following a -2.9% change.
According to the projections, the United Kingdom will move from fifth, down to eight, which corresponds to a market share change of -27% by 2015.
South Korea will remain unaffected, despite a -12% change by 2015.
Somewhat unexpectedly, Mexico breaks into the top 10, replacing Italy, which will decrease by -43.4% by 2015.
All emerging countries including China, Brazil, Russia, India, Indonesia, Turkey and Poland see growth in the 2015 projection with the exception of South Korea and Taiwan, which drop by -12% and -15.4%, respectively. The top emerging countries by growth are China (+63.4%), Brazil (+43.3%), Russia (+27.5%), India (+26.6%) and Indonesia (+20,8%).
* See Wikipedia for further information:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linear_regression
The study
Assumptions and method
T-Index was developed to help companies choose their target markets and the right languages for translating their websites.
Each country has been assessed according to a single language, except where the T-index value of the country is in excess of 0.1%, in which case we have assessed the country within several language markets. For example, Switzerland, which has a T-index of 0.53%, has been assessed in three different language markets (German, French, and Italian). As country language, we have considered that used for business, written communication, and the Internet.
A lot of languages in use today are not yet represented on the Internet. In many African and Caribbean countries, for example, English is the official language and often the unifying language, widely used in government, public administration, education, business and online. Local languages are often spoken as everyday informal languages by the majority of the population. The T-Index study only considered languages that are used for business, written communication, and the Internet.
Languages that have international variations depending on the country have been grouped together into their respective standard language. As an example, UK English and US English have been classified under the English language.
Dependent territories have been evaluated according to the governing state, if they share the same language. If they do not share the same language, as is the case with Puerto Rico and the United States, they are included as separate entries based on the language market they belong to.
The T-Index study includes every country for which we were able to find data concerning the number of Internet users and GDP per capita. Without such data, it would have been impossible to make an evaluation.
Furthermore, in order to determine the GDP per capita of the Internet population, we made the assumption that Internet users in each country belong to the richest segment of the country’s population. We did this because T-Index is meant to gauge commercial opportunity and is aimed at identifying people who have the financial means and tools to surf and buy on the web.
Firstly, we gathered information about the number of Internet users and the total population, from which we determined the Internet penetration rate* for each country. We then analyzed each country's GDP per capita and income distribution to determine the proportion of GDP which is theoretically earned by Internet users, the average Internet user GDP per capita. Finally, from this information, we were able to establish a value for each country.
For those countries where income distribution data was not available, we calculated the average income distribution for all countries and used this estimate.
The T-Index is a useful tool for companies making website translation decisions. But other factors, not just the absolute sizes of each market, need to be considered when choosing languages for translation (factors like local market demand, competition, etc.). Website translation is a necessary step towards attracting new customers, but other key factors, such as the quality of the products and services or the user-friendliness of the interface, are essential in attracting new customers and ensuring they make a buying decision.
Example
In Japan, the number of Internet users is 99,182,000 out of a total population of 126,475,664. The Internet penetration rate is 78,4%. The 2011 GDP per capita of Japan was $34,362.071. According to income distribution by quintiles, we estimated that 78,4% of the richest Japanese earn 88.30% of Japan’s wealth. To obtain the GDP per capita of the Internet population, we made a simple calculation:
(total population x GDP per capita x part of wealth earned by Internet users) / number of Internet users
of Japan: (126,475,664 x 34,362.071 x 88.30%) / 99,182,000.
The estimated GDP per capita of the Internet population in Japan is $38,690.
To obtain the T-Index value, we multiplied the number of Internet users by the average GDP per capita of the Internet population. For Japan this is: 99,182,000 x $34,362.071. Finally, to obtain a percentage value for each country, we divided each country's T-Index value by the sum of T-Index values of all countries. This explains how we obtained a share potential of 6.7% for Japan.
*The Internet penetration rate is the percentage of Internet users in a country.
Sources
Statistics used in the T-Index study were taken from the following reliable Internet based sources.
The number of Internet users for each country was taken from the Internet World Stats website which provides up-to-date world Internet statistics: http://www.internetworldstats.com/stats.htm. The statistics were up-to-date as of June 30, 2011.
In order to assign each country to a language market, we looked at the most commonly used languages in business, and online, in each country in question. Our worldwide network of freelance translators has also contributed to the project, helping to make it a reliable tool that reflects the reality of each country.
The total population of each country was taken from the Central Intelligence Agency World Factbook (Washington, DC): https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2119rank.html. The statistics are estimates from the US Census Bureau, July, 2011.
GDP (Gross Domestic Product) per capita data were taken from the International Monetary Fund World Economic Outlook Database of September 2011. The data refer to 2011 and is presented in current international dollars. For the countries or territories for which the GDP per capita was not indicated in the International Monetary Fund World Economic Outlook Database, the data were taken from the Central Intelligence Agency World Factbook.
To determine if a country has restricted access to online information, we looked at the ranking given by the international non-governmental organization Reporters without Borders, available on its official website: http://en.rsf.org/internet.html.
The percentage shares of income indicated by quintiles were taken from the online statistical data of the World Bank's Development Research Group: http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SI.DST.05TH.20. Not all the data refer to the same year (the World Bank data are from 1992 to 2009).
Copyright
This material can be freely reused and shared only if a link back to this page is provided and it is made clear to the user that the data came from the T-Index study. Copy and paste the following statement:
The T-Index Study www.translated.net/en/languages-that-matter was carried out by Translated, a language service provider founded in 1999 that manages 53,000 translators in over 110 countries for 14,000 customers. In 2008, Translated was selected by Eurispes as representative of Italy's Excellence. Worldwide, Translated ranks amongst the most innovative LSPs in the development of productive processes to help translators in their daily endeavours.
Credits
Many thanks to all the people that provided us useful data or tips (in alphabetical order):
- Salvatore Giammarresi, Senior Director Localization Engineering, Yahoo!
- Daniel Goldschmidt, co-founder at RIGI Localization Solutions
- Mark Lammers, Senior Website Manager, Microsoft
- Sergio Pelino, Senior Localization Operations Manager, Google
- Brian Solis, Founder and President of FutureWorks
- Natalia Tsvetkov, International Project Manager, Microsoft
Contacts
For all further information, please contact: aurore@translated.net
Tags
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