BRUSSELS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--2016 proved fulfilling for EURid, the .eu domain name registry currently touting 3.760.695 domain registrations. The list of top 5 EU countries based on registrations is led by Germany with 1.054.826 domain registrations, followed by The Netherlands (483.830), France (341.823), the UK (300.878) and Italy (267.441). While the total number of IDN registrations increased, the total number of .eu registrations in 2016 measured a slight decrease compared to 2015.
“Over the past few years, Generic Top-Level Domains (gTLDs) have taken the domain name industry by storm. There are over 1000 gTLDs available on the market today which has given consumers an abundance of extensions to choose from, making it all the more difficult to stand out. Because of this, it is imperative that we redefine the way we approach the market and focus on providing quality to our users”, commented Marc Van Wesemael, EURid’s General Manager.
Several EU countries experienced strong growth over the year. Amongst these were Bulgaria (+16,5%), Malta (+8,6%), Portugal (+8,1%), Croatia (+6,3%) and Estonia (+5,8%). “These increases are due in large part to the lively startup scenes that these specific countries have,” states Giovanni Seppia, EURid’s External Relations Manager. “.eu and. ею are very useful extensions for startups that want to establish online credibility and increase their breadth of scope.”
A landmark in 2016 was the launch of .eu in Cyrillic (.ею). Acting as a cornerstone for IDN development within Europe, the launch of the .ею domain name and the publication of the IDN World Report, in cooperation with UNESCO and Verisign, show EURid’s commitment to supporting a truly multilingual Internet.
Since June 2010, EURid has offered DNSSEC as an added layer of security for domain name holders. Due to the exponential increase in cybersecurity threats, more than 348.000 .eu and .ею domain name holders are opting for a more secure online presence by implementing DNSSEC. In order to protect the end user even further while combatting and even preventing domain name abuses, EURid initiated collaborations with both Europol and EUIPO in 2016.
