T-Index 2012, 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.
2012 Data summary | NEW!
Sort by Country Sort by Language Sort by Region
| Trend* | Countries | T-Index 2012 |
Projection 2016 |
Languages | Internet population | Internet penetration |
GDP p.c. of Int. pop.** |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Download CSV | |||||||
|
(!) Restricted access to internet. * The arrows and the dash indicate the country's performance in the 2016 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 | 22.5% | 15.6% | 1 | 245,203,319 | 78.1% | $58,751 |
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China (!) | 13.5% | 20.1% | 1 | 538,000,000 | 40.1% | $16,133 |
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Japan | 6.3% | 4.6% | 1 | 101,228,736 | 79.5% | $39,863 |
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Germany | 4.6% | 3.9% | 1 | 67,483,860 | 83.0% | $43,476 |
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UK | 3.4% | 2.6% | 1 | 52,731,209 | 83.6% | $41,654 |
| 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% | 3.2% | 1 | 52,228,905 | 79.6% | $41,580 |
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Brazil | 3.1% | 4.3% | 1 | 88,494,756 | 44.4% | $22,265 |
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Russia | 2.9% | 3.6% | 1 | 67,982,547 | 47.7% | $27,362 |
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South Korea | 2.4% | 2.1% | 1 | 40,329,660 | 82.5% | $37,667 |
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Italy | 2.3% | 1.3% | 1 | 35,800,000 | 58.4% | $41,797 |
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Canada | 2.1% | 1.6% | 2 | 28,469,069 | 83.0% | $46,743 |
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Mexico | 2.0% | 2.0% | 1 | 42,000,000 | 36.5% | $30,078 |
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Spain | 2.0% | 1.8% | 2 | 31,606,233 | 67.2% | $39,625 |
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India | 1.8% | 2.3% | 2 | 137,000,000 | 11.4% | $8,411 |
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Australia | 1.4% | 1.1% | 1 | 19,554,832 | 88.8% | $45,848 |
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Turkey | 1.3% | 1.7% | 1 | 36,455,000 | 45.7% | $23,524 |
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Taiwan | 1.3% | 1.1% | 1 | 17,530,000 | 75.4% | $48,268 |
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Iran (!) | 1.2% | 1.8% | 1 | 42,000,000 | 53.3% | $18,351 |
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Netherlands | 1.1% | 0.93% | 1 | 15,549,787 | 92.9% | $45,192 |
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Argentina | 1.1% | 1.4% | 1 | 28,000,000 | 66.4% | $24,485 |
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Poland | 1.0% | 1.3% | 1 | 24,940,902 | 64.9% | $26,889 |
| Localizing a website for these 21 markets gives you access to 80% of the worldwide online sales potential. | |||||||
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Indonesia | 0.86% | 1.0% | 1 | 55,000,000 | 22.1% | $10,078 |
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Saudi Arabia (!) | 0.76% | 1.1% | 1 | 13,000,000 | 49.0% | $37,713 |
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Colombia | 0.67% | 1.0% | 1 | 26,936,343 | 59.5% | $15,999 |
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Malaysia | 0.65% | 0.66% | 1 | 17,723,000 | 60.7% | $23,340 |
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Thailand | 0.62% | 0.78% | 1 | 20,100,000 | 30.0% | $19,701 |
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Sweden | 0.58% | 0.44% | 1 | 8,441,718 | 92.7% | $44,308 |
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Belgium | 0.58% | 0.53% | 2 | 8,489,901 | 81.3% | $43,453 |
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United Arab Emirates | 0.57% | 0.58% | 1 | 5,859,118 | 70.9% | $62,030 |
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Hong Kong | 0.53% | 0.42% | 1 | 5,329,372 | 74.5% | $63,832 |
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South Africa | 0.51% | 0.43% | 2 | 8,500,000 | 17.4% | $38,716 |
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Switzerland | 0.51% | 0.40% | 3 | 6,509,247 | 82.1% | $50,330 |
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Austria | 0.50% | 0.43% | 1 | 6,559,355 | 79.8% | $48,942 |
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Egypt | 0.49% | 0.71% | 1 | 29,809,724 | 35.6% | $10,450 |
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Singapore | 0.48% | 0.46% | 2 | 4,015,121 | 75.0% | $76,670 |
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Nigeria | 0.45% | 0.71% | 1 | 48,366,179 | 28.4% | $5,973 |
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Philippines | 0.43% | 0.64% | 1 | 33,600,000 | 32.4% | $8,279 |
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Venezuela | 0.41% | 0.57% | 1 | 12,097,156 | 43.1% | $21,815 |
| Localizing a website for these 38 markets gives you access to 90% of the worldwide online sales potential. | |||||||
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Norway | 0.40% | 0.32% | 1 | 4,560,572 | 96.9% | $55,572 |
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Chile | 0.39% | 0.36% | 1 | 10,000,000 | 58.6% | $25,106 |
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Czech Republic | 0.36% | 0.33% | 1 | 7,426,376 | 73.0% | $30,921 |
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Greece | 0.35% | 0.28% | 1 | 5,706,948 | 53.0% | $38,925 |
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Peru | 0.34% | 0.41% | 1 | 10,785,573 | 36.5% | $20,252 |
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Israel | 0.33% | 0.35% | 1 | 5,313,530 | 70.0% | $40,412 |
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Denmark | 0.32% | 0.23% | 1 | 4,989,108 | 90.0% | $41,106 |
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Portugal | 0.31% | 0.12% | 1 | 5,950,449 | 55.2% | $33,107 |
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Qatar | 0.30% | 0.29% | 1 | 1,682,271 | 86.2% | $115,207 |
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Vietnam (!) | 0.30% | 0.43% | 1 | 31,034,900 | 33.9% | $6,152 |
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Finland | 0.29% | 0.25% | 1 | 4,703,480 | 89.4% | $40,093 |
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Romania | 0.29% | 0.30% | 1 | 9,642,383 | 44.1% | $19,024 |
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Ukraine | 0.28% | 0.40% | 1 | 15,300,000 | 34.1% | $11,704 |
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Ireland | 0.27% | 0.21% | 1 | 3,627,462 | 76.8% | $47,942 |
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Pakistan | 0.26% | 0.32% | 1 | 29,128,970 | 15.3% | $5,736 |
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Hungary | 0.26% | 0.28% | 1 | 6,516,627 | 65.4% | $25,409 |
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Kazakhstan | 0.25% | 0.37% | 1 | 7,884,905 | 45.0% | $20,087 |
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Morocco | 0.20% | 0.27% | 1 | 16,477,712 | 51.0% | $7,955 |
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New Zealand | 0.19% | 0.13% | 1 | 3,810,144 | 88.0% | $31,688 |
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Slovakia | 0.19% | 0.22% | 1 | 4,337,868 | 79.1% | $27,513 |
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Ecuador | 0.16% | 0.21% | 1 | 6,663,558 | 43.8% | $15,148 |
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Kuwait | 0.16% | 0.14% | 1 | 1,963,565 | 74.2% | $51,105 |
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Belarus (!) | 0.15% | 0.19% | 1 | 4,436,800 | 46.0% | $21,579 |
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Algeria | 0.13% | 0.20% | 1 | 5,230,000 | 14.0% | $15,804 |
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Dominican Rep | 0.12% | 0.18% | 1 | 4,643,393 | 46.0% | $16,391 |
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Azerbaijan | 0.12% | 0.17% | 1 | 4,746,800 | 50.0% | $15,763 |
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Croatia | 0.11% | 0.11% | 1 | 3,167,838 | 70.7% | $23,013 |
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Tunisia | 0.11% | 0.17% | 1 | 4,196,564 | 39.1% | $17,338 |
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Oman | 0.11% | 0.17% | 1 | 2,101,302 | 68.0% | $34,282 |
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Bulgaria | 0.11% | 0.10% | 1 | 3,589,347 | 51.0% | $19,387 |
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Serbia | 0.093% | 0.14% | 1 | 4,107,000 | 56.4% | $14,580 |
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Angola | 0.092% | 0.035% | 1 | 2,976,657 | 16.5% | $19,878 |
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Lithuania | 0.092% | 0.099% | 1 | 2,293,508 | 65.1% | $25,795 |
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Cuba (!) | 0.086% | 0.14% | 1 | 2,572,779 | 23.2% | $21,534 |
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Uzbekistan (!) | 0.086% | 0.13% | 1 | 8,575,042 | 30.2% | $6,426 |
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Syria (!) | 0.085% | 0.14% | 1 | 5,069,418 | 22.5% | $10,690 |
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Slovenia | 0.081% | 0.069% | 1 | 1,440,066 | 72.1% | $36,163 |
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Lebanon | 0.080% | 0.089% | 1 | 2,152,950 | 52.0% | $23,914 |
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Kenya | 0.075% | 0.080% | 1 | 12,043,735 | 28.0% | $3,990 |
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Sri Lanka | 0.072% | 0.092% | 1 | 3,222,200 | 15.0% | $14,328 |
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Uruguay | 0.070% | 0.092% | 1 | 1,855,000 | 55.9% | $24,173 |
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Puerto Rico | 0.070% | 0.034% | 1 | 1,771,643 | 48.0% | $25,213 |
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Costa Rica | 0.067% | 0.073% | 1 | 2,000,000 | 43.1% | $21,599 |
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Luxembourg | 0.066% | 0.053% | 1 | 462,697 | 90.9% | $91,669 |
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Sudan | 0.063% | 0.081% | 1 | 6,499,275 | 19.0% | $6,199 |
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Panama | 0.062% | 0.088% | 1 | 1,503,441 | 42.8% | $26,427 |
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Bolivia | 0.056% | 0.065% | 1 | 3,087,000 | 30.0% | $11,579 |
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Guatemala | 0.055% | 0.084% | 1 | 2,280,000 | 16.2% | $15,413 |
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Bahrain (!) | 0.050% | 0.058% | 1 | 961,228 | 77.0% | $33,614 |
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Latvia | 0.049% | 0.041% | 1 | 1,570,925 | 71.7% | $19,942 |
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Libya | 0.049% | 0.046% | 1 | 954,275 | 17.0% | $32,610 |
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Bangladesh | 0.047% | 0.041% | 1 | 8,054,190 | 5.0% | $3,716 |
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Ghana | 0.044% | 0.044% | 1 | 3,568,757 | 14.5% | $7,906 |
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El Salvador | 0.043% | 0.045% | 1 | 1,491,480 | 24.5% | $18,420 |
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Bosnia-Herzegovina | 0.042% | 0.058% | 1 | 2,327,578 | 60.0% | $11,644 |
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Cyprus | 0.042% | 0.035% | 1 | 656,439 | 57.7% | $41,274 |
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Estonia | 0.039% | 0.030% | 1 | 993,785 | 78.0% | $25,054 |
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Jordan | 0.038% | 0.054% | 1 | 2,481,940 | 38.1% | $9,912 |
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Paraguay | 0.036% | 0.054% | 1 | 1,563,440 | 23.9% | $14,561 |
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Jamaica | 0.034% | 0.027% | 1 | 1,581,100 | 54.7% | $13,794 |
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Yemen | 0.032% | 0.037% | 1 | 3,691,000 | 14.9% | $5,575 |
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Trinidad & Tobago | 0.032% | 0.045% | 1 | 650,611 | 53.1% | $31,126 |
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Tanzania | 0.031% | 0.026% | 1 | 5,629,532 | 12.0% | $3,549 |
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Iraq | 0.030% | 0.031% | 1 | 2,211,860 | 7.1% | $8,588 |
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Brunei Darussalem | 0.029% | 0.035% | 1 | 318,900 | 78.0% | $59,288 |
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Macedonia | 0.029% | 0.036% | 1 | 1,180,704 | 56.7% | $15,881 |
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Honduras | 0.028% | 0.039% | 1 | 1,319,174 | 15.9% | $13,382 |
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Albania | 0.027% | 0.048% | 1 | 1,471,400 | 49.0% | $11,748 |
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Macau | 0.026% | 0.031% | 1 | 366,510 | 63.4% | $45,194 |
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Georgia | 0.023% | 0.038% | 1 | 1,300,000 | 28.4% | $11,531 |
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Botswana | 0.023% | 0.024% | 1 | 268,620 | 12.8% | $55,641 |
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Uganda | 0.023% | 0.036% | 1 | 4,376,672 | 13.0% | $3,407 |
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Armenia | 0.021% | 0.025% | 1 | 1,800,000 | 60.6% | $7,321 |
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Mauritius | 0.020% | 0.022% | 1 | 458,927 | 35.0% | $28,281 |
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Iceland | 0.018% | 0.013% | 1 | 304,129 | 97.1% | $37,674 |
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Senegal | 0.016% | 0.015% | 1 | 2,269,681 | 17.5% | $4,478 |
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Malta | 0.015% | 0.013% | 1 | 282,648 | 69.0% | $33,672 |
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Kyrgyzstan | 0.014% | 0.024% | 1 | 2,194,400 | 39.9% | $4,153 |
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Bahamas | 0.014% | 0.021% | 1 | 235,797 | 74.6% | $38,631 |
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Moldova | 0.014% | 0.020% | 1 | 1,639,463 | 44.8% | $5,383 |
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Zambia | 0.012% | 0.015% | 1 | 1,589,010 | 11.5% | $5,043 |
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Nepal | 0.012% | 0.014% | 1 | 2,690,162 | 9.0% | $2,860 |
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Mongolia | 0.011% | 0.011% | 1 | 635,999 | 20.0% | $11,058 |
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Namibia | 0.011% | 0.011% | 1 | 259,899 | 12.0% | $26,068 |
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Barbados | 0.0096% | 0.012% | 1 | 199,915 | 69.5% | $30,879 |
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Nicaragua | 0.0095% | 0.014% | 1 | 783,800 | 13.7% | $7,758 |
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Kosovo | 0.0089% | 0.018% | 1 | 377,000 | 20.5% | $15,093 |
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Cameroon | 0.0084% | 0.012% | 1 | 1,006,494 | 5.0% | $5,366 |
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Montenegro | 0.0084% | 0.011% | 1 | 328,375 | 50.0% | $16,385 |
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Gabon | 0.0080% | 0.0092% | 1 | 128,665 | 8.0% | $39,714 |
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Turkmenistan (!) | 0.0075% | 0.0073% | 1 | 252,741 | 5.0% | $19,031 |
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Tajikistan | 0.0067% | 0.011% | 1 | 1,012,220 | 13.0% | $4,213 |
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Jersey | 0.0063% | 0.0065% | 1 | 45,800 | 48.2% | $87,943 |
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Cote D'Ivoire | 0.0060% | 0.0099% | 1 | 968,000 | 4.4% | $3,983 |
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Suriname | 0.0060% | 0.0089% | 1 | 179,250 | 32.0% | $21,511 |
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Guyana | 0.0060% | 0.0060% | 1 | 250,274 | 33.7% | $15,350 |
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Laos | 0.0059% | 0.0095% | 1 | 592,764 | 9.0% | $6,411 |
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Congo | 0.0059% | 0.0092% | 1 | 295,132 | 6.8% | $12,875 |
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Swaziland | 0.0059% | 0.0061% | 1 | 251,448 | 18.1% | $14,970 |
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Cambodia | 0.0058% | 0.0063% | 1 | 662,840 | 4.4% | $5,591 |
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Haiti | 0.0055% | 0.0077% | 1 | 836,435 | 8.5% | $4,211 |
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Rwanda | 0.0051% | 0.0067% | 1 | 818,048 | 7.0% | $3,961 |
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Liechtenstein | 0.0048% | 0.011% | 1 | 31,206 | 85.0% | $98,538 |
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Mozambique | 0.0047% | 0.0043% | 1 | 1,011,185 | 4.3% | $2,977 |
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Andorra | 0.0046% | 0.0080% | 1 | 68,916 | 81.0% | $43,027 |
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Afghanistan | 0.0045% | 0.0073% | 1 | 1,520,996 | 5.0% | $1,903 |
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Zimbabwe | 0.0042% | 0.0038% | 1 | 1,981,277 | 15.7% | $1,369 |
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Guernsey | 0.0041% | 0.0021% | 1 | 48,300 | 73.9% | $54,598 |
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Fiji | 0.0038% | 0.0035% | 1 | 247,275 | 27.8% | $9,789 |
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Bhutan | 0.0034% | 0.0036% | 1 | 150,548 | 21.0% | $14,390 |
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Monaco | 0.0034% | 0.0026% | 1 | 30,700 | 84.4% | $70,370 |
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Ethiopia | 0.0034% | 0.0040% | 1 | 960,331 | 1.1% | $2,242 |
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Saint Lucia | 0.0033% | 0.0036% | 1 | 142,900 | 88.1% | $14,684 |
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Maldives | 0.0032% | 0.0048% | 1 | 134,860 | 34.2% | $15,414 |
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Greenland | 0.0032% | 0.0031% | 1 | 52,000 | 90.1% | $38,877 |
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Equatorial Guinea | 0.0031% | 0.0032% | 1 | 42,024 | 6.1% | $46,579 |
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Seychelles | 0.0030% | 0.0030% | 1 | 38,854 | 43.2% | $49,960 |
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Antigua & Barbuda | 0.0029% | 0.0035% | 1 | 74,057 | 83.2% | $25,528 |
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Burkina Faso | 0.0029% | 0.0029% | 1 | 518,253 | 3.0% | $3,575 |
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Myanmar (!) | 0.0027% | 0.0021% | 1 | 534,930 | 1.0% | $3,267 |
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Belize | 0.0026% | 0.0032% | 1 | 74,700 | 22.8% | $22,209 |
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Cape Verde | 0.0023% | 0.0036% | 1 | 167,542 | 32.0% | $8,897 |
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Malawi | 0.0023% | 0.0041% | 1 | 716,400 | 4.4% | $2,031 |
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Faroe Islands | 0.0022% | 0.0023% | 1 | 39,948 | 80.7% | $35,395 |
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Benin | 0.0018% | 0.00052% | 1 | 335,957 | 3.5% | $3,525 |
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Mali | 0.0018% | 0.0025% | 1 | 414,985 | 2.7% | $2,839 |
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Gambia | 0.0018% | 0.0022% | 1 | 200,057 | 10.9% | $5,762 |
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St Vincent & Grenadines | 0.0018% | 0.0031% | 1 | 76,000 | 73.4% | $14,853 |
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Madagascar | 0.0016% | 0.0023% | 1 | 418,099 | 1.9% | $2,439 |
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Papua New Guinea | 0.0015% | 0.00062% | 1 | 135,000 | 2.1% | $7,339 |
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Chad | 0.0015% | 0.0022% | 1 | 208,537 | 1.9% | $4,615 |
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Grenada | 0.0014% | 0.0016% | 1 | 37,860 | 34.7% | $24,545 |
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San Marino | 0.0014% | 0.0020% | 1 | 17,000 | 52.9% | $53,301 |
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Dem Rep Of The Congo | 0.0013% | 0.0017% | 1 | 915,400 | 1.2% | $914 |
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Mauritania | 0.0013% | 0.0014% | 1 | 151,163 | 4.5% | $5,419 |
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Dominica | 0.0012% | 0.0012% | 1 | 37,520 | 51.3% | $20,953 |
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Togo | 0.0011% | 0.0011% | 1 | 356,300 | 5.1% | $1,948 |
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Eritrea | 0.0011% | 0.0014% | 1 | 377,363 | 6.2% | $1,797 |
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St Kitts & Nevis | 0.00094% | 0.00094% | 1 | 22,480 | 44.3% | $26,785 |
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Tonga | 0.00067% | 0.00070% | 1 | 26,479 | 24.9% | $16,177 |
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Niger | 0.00063% | 0.00078% | 1 | 212,480 | 1.3% | $1,888 |
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Djibouti | 0.00061% | 0.00084% | 1 | 61,320 | 7.9% | $6,383 |
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Central African Rep | 0.00057% | 0.00065% | 1 | 150,920 | 3.0% | $2,429 |
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Guinea | 0.00057% | 0.00066% | 1 | 141,504 | 1.3% | $2,580 |
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Lesotho | 0.00055% | 0.00067% | 1 | 83,813 | 4.3% | $4,189 |
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Solomon Islands | 0.00043% | 0.00041% | 1 | 34,313 | 5.9% | $8,121 |
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Samoa | 0.00041% | 0.00037% | 1 | 17,940 | 9.2% | $14,583 |
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Vanuatu | 0.00036% | 0.00051% | 1 | 19,172 | 7.5% | $11,974 |
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Sao Tome And Principe | 0.00034% | 0.000001% | 1 | 36,928 | 20.2% | $5,844 |
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Sierra Leone | 0.00034% | 0.00029% | 1 | 69,240 | 1.3% | $3,112 |
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North Korea (!) | 0.00033% | 0.00060% | 1 | 50,000 | 0.2% | $4,240 |
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Somalia | 0.00028% | 0.00019% | 1 | 126,070 | 1.2% | $1,413 |
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Comoros | 0.00027% | 0.00028% | 1 | 40,550 | 5.5% | $4,303 |
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Burundi | 0.00026% | 0.00035% | 1 | 176,040 | 1.7% | $954 |
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Micronesia | 0.00024% | 0.00019% | 1 | 22,213 | 20.9% | $6,834 |
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Kiribati | 0.00024% | 0.00025% | 1 | 10,074 | 9.9% | $15,062 |
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Liberia | 0.00018% | 0.00017% | 1 | 116,637 | 3.0% | $1,004 |
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Guinea Bissau | 0.00017% | 0.00017% | 1 | 43,484 | 2.7% | $2,546 |
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Palau | 0.00015% | 0.00012% | 1 | 6,360 | 30.2% | $15,525 |
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Cook Islands | 0.00012% | 0.000100% | 1 | 6,000 | 55.7% | $13,067 |
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East Timor | 0.00011% | 0.000096% | 1 | 10,293 | 0.9% | $6,795 |
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Marshall Islands | 0.000067% | 0.000064% | 1 | 7,260 | 10.6% | $5,888 |
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Tuvalu | 0.000038% | 0.000059% | 1 | 4,300 | 40.5% | $5,596 |
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Vatican City State | 0.000037% | 0.000050% | 1 | 480 | 57.4% | $49,522 |
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Niue | 0.000011% | 0.000006% | 1 | 1,100 | 86.7% | $6,269 |
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Nauru | 0.000009% | 0.000001% | 1 | 480 | 5.1% | $11,776 |
2016 T-Index Projection | NEW!
T-Index Map - 2012
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 Freedom Map
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. | Source: Reporters without Borders http://en.rsf.org
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 22,5%, 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 $ 58,751.
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 England-based company, specializing in the sale of winter sports merchandise has a website in English and would like to translate it into another European language. After conducting market research, the marketing manager concludes that their products would certainly be successful in Germany, Sweden and Norway. By accessing the T-Index, it quickly becomes clear that Germany, with a 4.6% market share is the market with the greatest potential for online sales because it covers 67,483,860 Internet users with an average $ 43,476 per-capita GDP. The T-Index has been decisive in choosing German as a language for the new site.
Example 2
A Canada-based company has a website in English and French and would like to translate into another language. By accessing the T-Index ranked by language, the marketing manager realizes quickly that Simplified Chinese, Spanish, Japanese and German are, in 2012, the languages with the highest online potential. By clicking on the 
sign on the data summary table for a complete overview of the countries covered by these four linguistic markets, the manager thinks about the fact that the Chinese language market includes two countries, while those that speak Spanish, and German respectively comprise twenty-one, one and four countries. After studying the markets in question, he realizes that his company would have access only to the following markets: Singapore, Mexico, Spain, Japan and Germany for various considerations related to logistics, financial, competitive and cultural aspects. This gives the following real values for the four languages considered:
- Chinese language: Singapore (0.14%)= 0.14%
- Spanish language: Mexico (2.0%) + Spain (1.6%)= 3.6%
- Japanese language: Japan= 6.3%
- German language: Germany= 4.6%
For the Canadian company, Japanese demonstrates having a market share larger than all the others. Therefore, the company choses to translate its website into Japanese to develop their online business.
2016 Projection
To calculate the projection through 2016, we have extrapolated a line between the 2005 and 2012 data points using Simple Linear Regression*. The projection assumes a linear growth trend for all countries.
According to the T-Index projection, China could overtake the United States and take first place in 2015, with a market share of 18.5% compared to 13.5% in 2012. Actually, the United States on line purchasing power would change from 22.5% in 2012 to 17.3% in 2015. In 2016, China would retain the top spot and is widening the gap with the United States showing a 20.1% market share compared to 15.6% for the United States.
Japan would maintain its third place until 2016, despite a drop of -26.9% in its market share compared to 2012.
With a change in its market share estimated at + 16.1%, Brazil could win fifth place in 2013 and go pass the UK and France. In 2016, it could even climb to fourth place, also leaving Germany behind, which would suffer a 15.2% drop compared to 2012.
Russia would change from eighth to seventh place in 2013, and down to sixth place in 2014 with a 17.2% variation compared to 2012.
France would lose one place in 2014 with a -2.9% change compared to 2012.
The United Kingdom would go from fifth to eighth place in 2013, with a change in its market share equal to -5.9% compared to 2012.
South Korea would hold ninth place until 2016 despite a 12.5% variation compared to 2012.
The surprise comes from Mexico which would enter the top 10 as of 2013, taking the Italy's place which would undergo a -17.4% drop between 2012 and 2013.
All emerging countries including China, Brazil, Poland, Russia, India/English, Nigeria and Vietnam see growth in the 2016 projection. The top emerging countries by growth would be Nigeria (+55,6%), China (+48,8%), Vietnam (+43,3%), Brazil (+35,4%) and Poland (+30%).
* 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 0.51%, 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 101.228.736 out of a total population of 127.368.088. The Internet penetration rate is 79.5%. The estimated GDP per capita of Japan for 2012 is $35.578,219. According to income distribution by quintiles, we estimated that 79.5% of the richest Japanese earn 89.05% 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: (127.368.088 x 35.578,219 x 89.05%) / 101.228.736
The estimated GDP per capita of the Internet population in Japan is $39.863.
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: 101.228.736 x $39.863. 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 6.3% 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. The statistics were up-to-date as of June 30, 2012.
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. The statistics were estimates from the US Census Bureau, July, 2012. For countries whose total population was not specified in the CIA World Factbook, data were extracted from official statistical sources in each country.
GDP (Gross Domestic Product) per capita data were taken from the International Monetary Fund World Economic Outlook Database. The data refer to 2012 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 2011).
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 68.000 translators in over 110 countries for 26.000 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