The internet has become such an integral part of our daily lives that we often do not even think about how much we rely on it.
According to the data presented by the Atlas VPN team, a day without the internet in the world would cost $43-billion. The United States and China almost make up half of the sum together, accumulating $21-billion.
The United States, one of the most connected countries regarding internet usage, would face huge losses of around $11-billion for a single day without online access. An outage would bring many economic activities in the US to a standstill.
China is estimated to lose nearly $10-billion, though this figure may underestimate the true cost. With China’s heavy reliance on manufacturing and exporting goods globally, an internet outage would significantly slow cross-border trade.
The United Kingdom, with its robust e-commerce and financial services sectors, would lose approximately $3-billion. Japan is predicted to suffer around $2.7-billion in damage, given the vital role that advanced telecommunications and internet technology play in its economy.
Losing the internet would severely inhibit Germany’s production and business operations, potentially costing $1.5-billion based on its GDP share and the high level of internet dependence across its industrial sectors.
Vilius Kardelis, a cybersecurity writer at Atlas VPN, says: “We often don’t appreciate the backbone role the internet now plays. An outage would bring activities to a standstill and underscore how much our economic functions depend on stable online access. Access to the internet should be a basic human right and should not be restricted by governments or providers.”
However, small and isolated countries, specifically Oceanic islands such as Tuvalu, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, and Micronesia, would have the most minor losses if the internet shut down for a day. These countries would lose no more than $50,000.