Public Interest Registry, the not-for-profit operator of the top level .org domain, has published its bi-annual domain name report for 2013. The TLD .org was established on January 1, 1985, by decision of ICANN and was initially designed for non-profits. That limitation has long been lifted, but as Public Interest Registry CEO Brian Cute said commenting on the report, .org is a trusted domain “for art and cultural institutions, clubs, sports teams, environmental and educational groups, as well as scientific, philosophic, and religious organizations.” A steady rise in the number of new registrations is positive proof that the composition of .org domain users is broadening.
Last year, 206,542 new .org domains were registered, a growth of 2.6% in 2013, bringing the total number of .org domains under registration (DUM) to 10,346,000 globally. About 40% of all new domains were registered outside the United States. Japan, China and India are represented in the top 10 countries for .org registrations.
Another positive fact reported is the users’ mood: 85% of .org registrants whose contracts expired in 2013 renewed their domains for three-plus years.
