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How many web pages are on the Internet presently?
Hello! Thank you for your question regarding the number of web pages on the Internet at present. Google Inside Search estimates that there are greater than 60 trillion web pages. This is the highest estimate found for indexed pages. However, it is estimates that Google searches 1 in 3,000 web pages since the majority are Deep Web (non-indexed) web pages. Therefore, the potential number of web pages on the internet could be as high as 180 quadrillion web pages (see how I calculated this below).
Currently at this time, there are over 1 billion web sites as tracked by Internet Live Stats and the April 2016 Web Server Survey. This number fluctuates every moment depnding on internet users who are online. The number of web pages on these web sites is also variable and dependent on a number of factors. A web page can be either indexed or non-indexed based on whether a search engine has determined that there is enough quality content on that page for it to show up in a search.
NUMBER OF INDEXED PAGES
Pages with inadequate information or that are new are non-indexed and may not be included in a search. A search for the total number of web pages might only provide figures for indexed pages. For example, a search by www.worldwidewebsize.com uses a research method designed by Internet consultant Maurice de Kunder that calculated there were 4.66 billion web pages online as of mid-March 2016. However, these are searchable or indexed pages in the internet. They do not include non-indexed pages or pages that are found in the Deep web which search engines will not pick up. Google Inside Search states that they search more than 60 trillion pages, a number that is continually getting larger.
NUMBER OF INDEXED AND NON-INDEXED PAGES
Searching for the number of "deep" web pages is complicated because as described by Stepanie Pappas who wrote in her Live Science article "Deep Web content can be as innocuous as the results of a search of an online database or as secretive as black-market forums accessible only to those with special Tor software". There are some estimates that the size of "deep" web pages is "500 times larger than the surface Web that most people search every day". Further, according to another study published in Google for example searches only 1 in 3,000 web pag es in existence. It should be noted that the Deep Web also is the fastest growing section of the internet.
CALCULATING TOTAL NUMBER OF WEB PAGES
Google Inside Search lists more than 60 trillion web pages are searched. If the information written in Trend Micro is accurate that 1 in 3,000 web pages are searched by Google, then it could be proposed that there could be as many as 180 quadrillion web pages on the internet (both indexed and non-indexed or in other words surface and deep web pages). This number is calculated by multiplying 60 trillion by 3,000 since Google only searches 1 in 3,000 web pages since the majority of web pages are "deep" web or non-indexed pages.
Using Maurice de Kunder methodology, www.worldwidewebsize.com produces monthly statistics, the latest of whcih state there are 4.66 billion web pages (index or surface web pages). If Kunder's numbers are used and multiplied by 3,000 then the number of pages is 13.8 trillion web pages but these would just be surface web or indexed pages. This could be used as a minimum estimate if needed.
In summary, the number of web pages has to include both surface or indexed pages and Deep Web or non-indexed web pages in order to provide a more accurate estimate. This estimate then could be as high as 180 quadrillion pages. Thanks for using Wonder! Please let us know if we can help with anything else!