IXP Tracker
Internet Exchange Points (IXPs) help make the Internet faster, more reliable, and cheaper. An IXP is a physical or virtual place where a network can allow traffic from other networks to be transmitted along theirs, a practice known as peering. IXPs provide a more affordable alternative to sending local Internet traffic abroad, only to have to return that traffic via an international link, which can be expensive.
Internet Society Pulse tracks the health, growth, and availability of IXPs around the world.
Global IXP Growth
The first Internet Exchange Points were established in the 1990s, when the Internet had only a few million users. As millions, and then billions of people came online, the demand for affordable, reliable Internet grew, giving IXPs an increasingly important role.
In the past 12 months, the average number of IXPs has increased most in Europe. Within the region, the highest membership growth has been in Poland.
There are currently 31 countries and territories in the world that have large population centers but no reported IXPs.
Featured: fast-growing IXP
Members are what make IXPs grow. We highlight an IXP that's had the largest membership increase by percentage during the previous month.
Internet Exchange Points and the power of peering
The Pulse IXP Tracker was built to measure the growth, capacity, and membership of Internet Exchange Points around the world, and support their expansion.
We use IXP member data from PeeringDB. PeeringDB uses data reported by IXP operators and networks.
Our IXP count totals reflect locations that If you see errors in the data, contact Pulse or the IXP team directly, or encourage the relevant author to update their PeeringDB entry.
We also use data from MANRS, RIPE Atlas, Geonames, and CAIDA. The data is refreshed at the beginning of each calendar month.
There are a number of ways networks can choose to peer with one another. The Pulse IXP Tracker focuses on IXPs because they are essential to the growth and health of an Internet that's truly for all. Learn more about how they work in the IXP explainer.
The Internet Society works with communities around the world to improve local Internet infrastructure by providing equipment, technical trainings, and strengthening trust and cooperation between the people who build the Internet. Read our position on community-driven IXPs, or learn about some of the Internet Society's IXP success stories.