French internet users hate online ads the most, says study

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Internet users in France hate online ads the most, according to a global study of countries most keen on blocking internet ads. The research found that France scored the most searches for ad-blocking software per 100,000 internet users, ahead of Sweden and Denmark.

France tops the list of countries with the greatest interest in ad-blockers. The study, published by the VPN provider Surfshark, found an average 579 searches for ad-blocking software per 100,000 French internet users, the highest in the world, followed by Sweden and Denmark.

Europe is a particular hotspot for online ad-haters. Lithuania, Greece, Belgium and Norway all score over 400 ad-blocker searches per 100,000 internet users. Americans, on the other hand, seem more tolerant of online advertising, with the US coming 23rd in the global ranking with 300 searches per 100,000 internet users.

At the opposite end of the scale, web users in Africa seem pretty laid-back about online ads, although there may also be less awareness about available solutions to block internet ads. Nigeria appears to be the most tolerant country when it comes to online ads, with just 1 search per 100,000 users and similarly low levels in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Burkina Faso.

To come to these conclusions, Surfshark analyzed Google searches for the main ad-blockers. The VPN provider then divided the number of monthly Google searches by the number of internet users in each country, and multiplied by 100,000 to make the results more easily comparable. JB

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