India Overtakes US In Number of Internet Users

Internet use in India is accelerating: as the time to access for non-users is rapidly decreasing,  the numbers of users is growing exponentially. Virtually all of the access is via mobile devices. JL

Paul Ausick reports in 24/7 Wall Street:

It will take just one year to move from 300 million to 400 million users, and when that happens in December of this year, the world’s second-most populous country will surpass the United States in the number of Internet users and trail only China
It took India more than a decade to grow its number of Internet users from 10 million to 100 million and three years to grow from 100 million to 200 million. But it will take just one year to move from 300 million to 400 million users, and when that happens in December of this year, the world’s second-most populous country will surpass the United States in the number of Internet users and trail only China, which claims 600 million Internet users. India’s total 2015 population is estimated at 1.27 billion.
A report issued on Tuesday by the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) contains a number of interesting demographic facts about India’s Internet users:

• Countrywide, 71% of India’s Internet users are male and 29% are female.
• Internet usage among males has been growing at a rate of 50%, while it is growing at 46% for female users.
• In urban India, the ratio between male to female Internet users is 62% to 38%, and usage among females is growing at a rate of 39% compared to 28% among males.
• Among rural Internet users, 88% are males and 75% fall into the 18- to 30-year-old age group. Another 11% are under 18 years old, while 8% belong to 31- to 45-year-old age group.
• College students account for 32% of India’s Internet users.
• In urban India, the mobile Internet user base has grown at a rate of 65% over the past year to reach 197 million in October 2015.
• Of all Internet non-users surveyed in the 35 cities as part of the study, 11.4 million non-users are willing to access the Internet in the next year and over two-thirds of them intend to do so through mobile phones.