Number of spam emails drops, still accounts for 55% of traffic

Spam messages continue to be sent and received in huge quantities, with people around the world receiving these emails every day.

PreciseSecurity states research shows that more than half of the world population is using email, with the total number of email messages sent and received per day expected to reach nearly 295 billion in 2019.

Significantly, spam messages account for more than half of that amount, making 55% of global email traffic in this year, the company states.

Where are they coming from?

The 2019 data show China generates 20.43% of all spam emails, which makes it the largest source of spam globally.

During this year, 13.37% of global spam volume was created from IPs based in the United States. With a 5.6% share, Russia ranked third on this list, followed by Brazil and France.

Germany generated 2.95% of global spam volume, and other countries including India, Turkey, Singapore, and Vietnam holding around 2% share.

Is the number of spam emails dropping?

The recent surveys show that the worldwide annual spam email rate has decreased by 14% over the last seven years. In 2012, it amounted to 69% and kept falling in the next three years.

In 2015, the annual spam email rate dropped to 53% on a global level. However, during the next two years, it moderately increased to 55%.

In 2018, the combined number of emails sent and received per day reached more than 281 billion. Despite that, the total number of spam emails remained the same.

Over the last three years, the annual spam email rate kept the 55% share on the global level.

Which country is the most targeted?

A significant part of spam messages is malicious, aiming to damage or hijack the user system, PreciseSecurity states. Some of the most ordinary types of malicious spam globally include spyware, trojans, and ransomware.

The Q1 2019 statistics show that Germany accounted for 11.88% of all measured email antivirus detections. With a 6.24% target rate, Vietnam ranked second on the list. Russia represents the third most-targeted country with a 5.70% share of all email antivirus triggers.