As part of their "consolidated final audience data", the sport's governing body claims 3.572 billion people watched official broadcasts of the World Cup, which they say equates to more than half of the global population aged four and above.

However, the figures count those who could only have watched one minute of the tournament.

France won their second World Cup title, beating Croatia 4-2 in the final in Moscow.

"The global in-home TV audience watching at least one minute of coverage totalled 3.262 billion, while a further estimated 309.7 million people watched no coverage in home but caught the action on digital platforms, in public viewing areas or in bars and restaurants, boosting the total audience by 9.5 per cent," FIFA said in a statement.

The final between France and Croatia reportedly attracted a combined global audience of 1.12 billion, comprised of 884.37 million tuning in to linear TV coverage and a further 231.82 million out-of-home and digital-only viewers.

Over the 64 matches, the average live audience per game is said to be 191 million.

"These figures really do support the claim that Russia 2018 was the best World Cup ever," FIFA's chief commercial officer Philippe Le Floc'h said.

"We're particularly pleased to see an increase in the average time viewers are engaging with matches, which shows that we are giving the fans what they want.

"The fact that half the world's population watched the FIFA World Cup reflects not just the high quality of our award-winning live coverage, but also that fans everywhere are insatiable for world-class football."

On average FIFA say that compared to Brazil 2014, 10.9 per cent more people were watching for at least three minutes.

The number of people watching for at least half-an-hour this year was reportedly 2.49 billion, up from 1.95 billion four years ago.

FIFA's full research into Russia 2018 viewing figures can be found here.