India's internet users to surpass U.S. says research

Research conducted by the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI), in collaboration with IMRB International, says India will surpass the US in terms of internet population by crossing the 400 million mark at the end of this year, 49 percent in terms of growth. 351 million of those users access the internet daily, the report says.

As of October 2015, the reports says 87 percent of users in India utilise mobile devices to access the internet, a figure expected to increase to 371 million by June 2016.

The primary impetus for internet users in India is online communication, however 75 percent also engage in social networking and entertainment.

Rural users accessing social-networking sites grew 36 percent over last year and 80 percent of rural users now access multimedia entertainment, up from 33 percent last year.

Rural areas are the fastest growing at 77 percent (108 million) at October 2015. Rural internet users are expected to reach 117 million by December 2015 and 147 million by June 2016.

Active rural mobile internet users grew around 99 percent (80 million) by October. The research indicates this number will reach 87 million by December and 109 million by June 2016.

“With smartphones in India now available for under 5,000 INR, we expect that the upsurge in overall Internet penetration will be driven by mobile,” IAMAI’s Nilotpal Chakravarti told TechCrunch in an interview.

IAMAI said the internet base took 10 years to move from 10 million to 100 million users, from thereon three years to reach 300 million and finally less than a year to reach 400 million.

Other stats released in the research were:

– 76 percent of rural users are aged 18 to 30, the market grew from 38 percent last year to 60 percent at October 2015.

– A gender breakdown reveals 71 percent of India’s internet users are male, a growth of 50 percent.

– Growth in the female internet base grew 46 percent.

– The male rural internet user base stands at 62 percent, and rural women 38 percent.

– In Urban areas, 43 percent of new online users are women and 34 percent men. 69 percent of these users access the Internet on a daily basis, a 60 percent rise over last year.

The IAMAI-IMRB survey was conducted across 35 cities with more than one million population, comprising eight large metros and smaller cities.