Global TLD Market Report: 45% .com, 38% ccTLDs

The latest CENTRstats TLD Market Report has been published. It covers the global status and registration trends in all top-level domains (legacy gTLDs, new gTLDs and ccTLDs), with a specific focus on the European ccTLD market, and includes analysis and predictions on the wider technological and societal forces that could influence domain name registrations throughout 2024 and beyond.

Highlights from the report

• In the first half of 2023, domain growth among European ccTLDs showed signs of a recovery from a record-breaking low at the beginning of the year to reach a high of 2.2% by September. The year however closed with a median of 1.4% across the top 30 largest ccTLDs in the region.
• Demand ratios averaged 1.1 meaning on average more domains are being registered than deleted.
• European ccTLDs are estimated to have around 54%² (median) market share based on their locally registered domains.
• The median registrar price to buy a European ccTLD decreased over 2023 and recently was recorded at 9.4 EUR. The same registrars sell .com at 12.5 EUR.
• DNSSEC adoption rate is at 10.5% and is continuing to grow consistently.
• The rate of developed websites using SSL has been increasingly consistent and was recently recorded at 77%.

Global Market Update

• The global market is estimated to be between 360-370 million domains over 1,456 recorded TLDs. It is distributed roughly as follows: 45% to .com, 38% to ccTLDs and the remaining to all other gTLDs.
• Median growth of the top 300 largest TLDs (Global300) was recorded at 2.6% (Jul 2023).
• Among gTLDs, median growth was 1.2% for the top 300 and 5.1% for the top 100. Although the top 100 grew at a higher rate, its median renewal rate is 65% – a decrease of 4% year on year.
• The largest TLD globally, .com, is experiencing stagnation in growth driven by a rise in long term deletion ratios and decreases in its new registration ratios.
  In late 2022, the long term deletion  ratio overtook the equivalent new registration ratio for the first time in at least a decade. Part of this trend might be explained by a rise in the ratio of low content domains in .com over 2022 and 2023. This ratio has stabilised in recent months.
• gTLDs with the highest percentage growth in the 12 months to July 2023 were: .cfd, .bond, .lol, .sbs, and .pics.
• Among ‘geographic’ gTLDs, domains under management remain low and most have either limited growth or have contracted in the 12 months to July 2023.