The country in Europe with the highest internet user growth might come as a surprise: According to comScore, between April 2011 and April 2012, Italy posted the highest growth in the continent, at 24%, and the fourth-highest growth rate in the world.

eMarketer’s own forecast is more conservative, predicting that the number of internet users in the country will increase only 4.3% from 2011 to 2012. One reason for the difference in estimates is that comScore looks at internet traffic overall, double counting for users logging in from work and from home, whereas eMarketer only counts individuals once, no matter where they log in.

comScore's growth figure suggests that the internet landscape in Italy is still developing, and one key area of growth will be mobile internet users, according to eMarketer. The mobile internet is making strong inroads among consumers in the country, and eMarketer estimates that mobile internet penetration will reach a third of all mobile phone users in the country in 2012, up from 26% penetration in 2011
.