January 19, 2012
The total number of registered .au domain names has increased by more than 600% since December 2002 - with most of those being .com.au names.
In December 2002, only 6,552 new domain names were registered in Australia - a figure that skyrocketed to almost 60,000 new domain name registrations each month in 2011.
The statistics come from a recent Deloitte Access Economics report commissioned by au Domain Administration (auDA), in conjunction with AusRegistry Pty Ltd.
While growth in registrations has been strong for most of the .au extension's history, the report notes a growth rate acceleration from around 2005. The total number of Australian domain names registered reached 2.18 million in August last year, with the 2 million mark reached in March.
Deloitte Access Economics pegs the total economic contribution of .au domain name registration and associated operations in Australia at an estimated at $475 million for 2010-11.
80% of .au domain names have been registered in major cities, with just 1.8% of all registered .au domain names in Australia having been registered in remote or very remote parts of Australia.
In August 2011, total domain names on the register in Australia reached 2.18 million. The total number of registered .au domain names has grown exponentially in recent years (see Chart i), with acceleration in the rate of growth from around 2005.
Companies dominate in terms of number of registrations; accounting for for 53% of the total; followed by sole traders at 14% and registered businesses at 11% respectively.
The report states that rapid growth in e-commerce and the marketing value of a .au domain name acting as an important signal to local consumers being increasingly realised, along with other factors, should see continuing demand for .au domain names continues into the future.
The full report, entitled "Economic and statistical analysis of the .au domain range" can be viewed here (PDF).
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