LinkedIn hits 100 million members worldwide

LinkedIn, the online social network for professionals and job seekers, now has 100 million members worldwide and more than half are from outside the United States. The company said on Tuesday it is now growing at a rate of roughly 1 million new members every week. The new total is about 10 million more than LinkedIn disclosed in a regulatory filing on March 11.

Brazil and Mexico are among LinkedIn's fastest growing countries, LinkedIn Chief Executive Jeff Weiner wrote in a blog post. LinkedIn is seeking to raise up to $175 million in an initial public offering hoping to capitalise on the frenzied interest in privately held Internet companies such as Facebook, Twitter and Groupon. While LinkedIn's membership is growing, the company said in a regulatory filing for its IPO in January that a "substantial majority" of its members do not visit the site on a monthly basis.