China Ranks Last in Global VPN Adoption – Is it Smoke and Mirrors?

China has the lowest VPN penetration globally, according to recent data. Despite this, Chinese users continue to access VPNs through alternative sources. In contrast, the UAE shows higher availability of VPN services. A study by Cybernews on VPN adoption revealed China’s low penetration rates based on downloads from Apple’s App Store and Google Play. The dataset included downloads of the 50 most popular VPN apps, covering 106 countries from 2020 to June 2025. Surprisingly, the country with the strictest online censorship also has the lowest VPN download activity worldwide. On the other hand, authoritarian regimes like the UAE reported an impressive 83.52% per-capita adoption in 2024, ranking at the top globally. The study pointed out that China focuses on controlling VPN availability, while the UAE regulates user behavior to achieve censorship.