The latest Verisign Domain Report shows that at the end of Q3 2008, there were 174 million domain name registrations across all the top level domains (TLD), 11.5 million of these are new domain name registrations within Q3 alone. The Q3 numbers dropped 2% from Q2 this year, and it is also 2% lower than the figures from the same period in 2007. Verisign notes that there is a decline in both gTLD (generic TLD) and ccTLD (country code TLD) registrations.
The most popular gTLD .com still leads the ranking of most registered TLD. It is followed by ccTLDs .cn (China) and .de (Germany), respectively. Fourth in the list is the gTLD .net. Following .com and .net in the ranking of gTLD domain name registrations are .org, .info, and .biz.
There were 68.9 million ccTLD domain name registrations at the end of Q2. Following .cn and .de, the others that make up the top 10 ccTLDs are: .uk (United Kingdom), .nl (Netherlands), .eu (European Union), .ar (Argentina), it (Italy), .br (Brazil), .us (United States) and .au (Australia). Verisign points points out that there are over 240 ccTLD extensions but the top ten ccTLDs contribute 66% of the total ccTLD registrations.
In the same quarterly report, Verisign forecasts that registrations for the ccTLD .tv (Tuvalu) is likely to rise steadily, as it is popularly known as the TLD for rich media and video content. Registrars and registrants are promoting .tv amid the growing number of online video enthusiasts in the US. In terms of base size, .tv was the fifth most recognized TLD behind .com, .net, .gov and .org in the US.
Verisign is the registry operator for both .com and .net TLDs. It provides regular statistics in and analysis of domain name registrations to domain trends analysts, the media, and relevant industry players.
For more information go to: http://www.verisign.com/static/044349.pdf |
