India is poised to end 2015 with 402 million Internet users, overtaking the U.S. whose Internet population is estimated at 300 million. A report by the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) in concert with IMRB International predicts that India’s Internet population will go up by 49% in 2015 compared to last year. China current has the most Internet users in the world at 600 million. If the report by IAMAIturns out to be true, India will have the second-highest Internet population in the world.
India’s Internet user base has been shown to be increasingly rapidlywith 49% growth expected this year. According to India’s IAMAI predicts that the country could finish 2015 with 402 million Internet users, thus surpassing the U.S. with 300 million Internet users and staying ahead of any other country in the world except China.
IAMAI further notes in the report that India’s Internet population is expanding rapidly in the recent years. For example, it took the country a decade to push its Internet user numbers from 10 million to 100 million. It took another three years for India’s Internet population to climb to 200 million from 100 million. However, it is only going to take a year to push India’s Internet user base to more than 400 million in 2015 from 375 million in 2014.
India’s Internet Demographics
Across the country, India is adding male Internet users at a higher rate than female users. The country’s Internet population is 71% males and 29% female with male users being added at the rate of 50% compared to female users at the rate of 46%.
In urban India, the ratio of male to female Internet population is 62:38. However, in rural India 88% of Internet users are males. Most of the Internet users in rural India are young people aged between 18 and 30 years.Interestingly, the number of non-working women in India using Internet is believed to have spiked 97% over last year.
Mobile India
India’s mobile Internet population is increasing rapidly, jumping 65% over last year to 197 million by then of October 2015. Mobile penetration in rural India is also bringing more people online with mobile Internet population in the rural poised to hit 87 million by the end of this year and rise to 109 million by mid next year.
