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Data Intelligence Report
Who Is Networking on LinkedIn?
Network Formation in 12 Countries
How many new connections LinkedIn members make each month (the network formation rate, NFR) in Q2 2026, by country, gender, education, profile verification and generation. Every value is an index: 1 = that country’s overall rate in Q1 2020.
Source: LinkedIn Economic Graph Research Institute, “Professional Network Growth and Demographics” (2026)
Network formation rate
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Gender gap
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Verified vs not
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Gen Z vs Boomers
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Most connected education group
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Which Countries Network More Than in 2020?
Overall NFR in Q2 2026, % change from each country’s own Q1 2020 rate
Click a bar to select that country. Only India, Germany and the UK are above their 2020 rate.
Every Segment
Selected country vs the 12-country median, Q2 2026 index
All segments are indexed to the country’s overall Q1 2020 rate, so values above 1 mean faster than the national 2020 average.
Across 12 Countries
Q2 2026 index by segment · selected country in full colour
Dashed line: the country’s overall Q1 2020 rate (= 1).
How Wide Are the Gaps?
Calculated from the report’s country tables. India is the only country where women are ahead of men.
Degrees and Networking, 2020 vs 2026
Cross-country median index by highest degree
From the report’s education summary table (values rounded to two decimals; labels show % change). MBAs connect the most; doctoral-degree holders grew fastest.
Younger Members Driving Growth
% change in NFR since Q1 2020, by generation and age
Figures as stated in the report’s text. Gen Z is the only generation above its 2020 rate.
Why People Hold Back
LinkedIn survey findings quoted in the report, % of professionals
Teal: all professionals · Gold: Gen Z · Purple: Millennials and Gen X. The report does not give the survey’s sample details.
Every Country, Every Segment
Q2 2026 index · click a row to select a country
Below 2020 rateAbove 2020 rate· colour scale is logarithmic around 1
Other Segments in the Report
Reported in the text only, without country tables
Age
+17% aged 18–29
−12% for ages 30–49 and 50+, since Q1 2020
Seniority
+64% senior ICs
above entry-level members; managers +54%
Industry
+81% Tech, Info & Media
above Q2 2026 median; +12% vs its Q1 2020 level
Job function
~5× Human Resources
vs Administrative, the lowest function
Company size
+45% 11–50 employees
above Q2 2026 median; NFR falls as firms get bigger
Network size
~5× top 25%
new connections vs the next-highest 25%
Account age
−28% by month 12
then a further −9% through month 24
India · doctoral
+126% since Q1 2020
now 186% above India’s national baseline
STAR members
−9% vs baseline
no bachelor’s degree, aged over 25 (Q2 2026)
Full Data
Q2 2026 NFR index (own country Q1 2020 overall = 1) · click a heading to sort, a row to select
12 countries + median
Index values are copied from the report’s tables. “vs Q1 2020”, “Men vs women” and the multiples are calculated from them. The median row is as printed in the report.
Key Findings
India almost doubled
India’s NFR is 99% above its Q1 2020 rate, far ahead of Germany (+28%) and the UK (+3%). The other nine countries are below their 2020 rate, Brazil the most (−19%).
A gender gap almost everywhere
Men form 38% more connections than women (median), up from 30% in Q1 2020. The gap ranges from 21% in Sweden to 48% in the US. India is the exception: women are 12% ahead.
Verification goes with networking
Verified members connect 4.2 times as fast as non-verified ones (median). The multiple runs from 3.3× in Germany to 7.7× in Brazil.
Gen Z leads in every country
Gen Z has the highest rate and Baby Boomers the lowest in all 12 countries. Gen Z connects at 3.2× the Boomer rate (median), and at 5.4× in India.
Source: Natasha Watkins, Danielle Kavanagh-Smith, Susan Hu and Matthew Baird, LinkedIn Economic Graph Research Institute: “Professional Network Growth and Demographics”, research note, 2026. Notes: The network formation rate (NFR) is the average number of new connections a member makes per month, weighted by member-months. Only accounts registered at least one year before the month measured are counted. Each group’s NFR is indexed to its own country’s overall NFR in Q1 2020 (= 1), so levels compare well within a country but only loosely between countries. Medians are as printed in the report. The report’s quarterly time-series charts (Q1 2020 to Q2 2026) and its account-age curve are not reproduced, because their individual points cannot be read exactly; this dashboard uses only values printed in the report’s tables and text.
