HANOI, Feb. 23 (Xinhua) -- Vietnam has around 50 million internet users, accounting for over 53 percent of the country's population, higher than the world's average rate of 46.64 percent, according to Vietnam's Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC) on Thursday.

Nguyen Thanh Hai, director of the MIC's Authority of Information Security, was quoted by local Ha Noi Moi (New Hanoi) newspaper as saying that the country targeted to increase the proportion of internet users to 80-90 percent of its population, the same as that of developed countries.

Speaking at a recent seminar on Digital Citizenship and Safer Internet Day 2017, Vu Hoang Lien, Chairman of Vietnam Internet Association, said Vietnam ranks 16th among top 20 countries with most internet users in Asia.

However, the country is facing numerous challenges and difficulties including those in information technology and internet infrastructure, human resource development, information security, cyber security, and cyber war among others.