VeriSign: The Internet now has 314 million domain names

Verisign has released its latest Domain Name Industry brief that says nearly 15 million domain names were added to the Internet in the fourth quarter of 2015. This increased the overall global number to 314 million across all top-level domains (TLDs). Worldwide registrations have been growing 25.9 million, or 9 percent year-over-year, further adds the report. The 15 million domain names equate to a growth rate of 5 percent compared to the third quarter of 2015. The .com and .net TLDs witnessed aggregate growth in the fourth quarter of 2015, with a combined 139.8 million .com and .net domain names in the domain name base. It shows a 6.3 percent increase year over year and as of December 31, 2015, the domain name base of .com is 124 million names, while .net is 15.8 million names.  Verisign says it processed 12.2 million new domain name registrations for .com and .net compared to 8.2 million domain names for the same period in 2014. It should be noted by the end of 2011, Verizon report had claimed the Internet has  225 million  domain names. The Domain Name Industry Brief by Verisign offers Internet users throughout the world with statistical and analytical research and data on the domain name industry. You can download the complete report here.