"Apart from launch of new Top Level Domains and approval for new Internationalized Domain Names by ICANN, growing Internet penetration, online advertising, and e-commerce transactions are expected to drive growth in number of Domain Name registrations in the future. Number of Domain Names registration worldwide is projected to exceed 305 million by 2018. Region-wise, Europe accounts for the largest share worldwide. Availability of reliable and better Internet connections in developing countries is expected to push the number of Domain Names registered in future. Asia-Pacific is one of the most rapidly expanding e-commerce markets in the world. In tune with the growing Internet population, number of registered Domain Names in Asia-Pacific is expected to increase significantly."
ICANN is supporting IDNs because the non-English speaking part of population is the overwhelming majority in some continents. The report confirms the approach of ICANN.
"Growth would also be fuelled by internationalized domain names (IDNs) as a large number of Internet users in Asia-Pacific are non-English speakers. Although country code Top-Level Domains (ccTLDs) are much lower in number than gTLDs, ccTLD registrations are forecast to grow at a faster rate when compared to gTLD registrations."
Hans-Peter Oswald
http://www.com-domains.com