Morocco's internet subscribers increased to 8.5 million for the period ended in September 2014, the country's regulator revealed.

According to the Agence Nationale de Réglementation des Télécommunications (ANRT) Morocco's rise in internet subscribers represents a penetration rate of 25.6%.

Morocco has a population of just over 32 million, according to the World Bank.

The ANRT also reported that the rapid growth in the country's smartphone owners fuelled the use of mobile internet, whose subscribers increased by 70.5% year-on-year to 7.55 million subscribers.

The North African nation's mobile market has a penetration rate of 130% - among the highest rates in the region, according to BuddeComm research.

The ANRT's report also revealed that ADSL internet recorded a higher growth of 2.2% quarterly and annual increase of 19.6 %.