759 million Indians, or 52% of the population, are “active” internet users, visiting the web at least once each month. The population is anticipated to increase to 900 million by 2025. For the first time ever, the majority of Indians are now frequent users of the internet.
These statistics are reflected in the “Internet in India Report 2022,” which was created by the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) and KANTAR, the top provider of marketing data and analytics worldwide. The report also notes that of India’s projected 759 million “active” internet users in 2022, 399 million would come from rural areas, while 360 million would live in urban areas, showing that rural India will continue to be the country’s main driver of internet growth.
Urban India, which has a 71% internet penetration rate, saw only 6% growth, while rural India, which saw a 14% growth rate over the previous year, accounted for the majority of the overall increase in numbers. By 2025, 56% of all new internet users in India are anticipated to come from rural areas. The vast gap in internet penetration between states, which has Bihar (32% having less than half as much as the leading state Goa (70%), continues to undermine the positive narrative about the digital divide.
Although the gender gap still exists, with 54% of users being men, it is encouraging to see that 57% of all new users in 2022 were female. By 2025, it is predicted that 65% of all new users will be women, bridging the gender gap.
According to the report, both the distribution and the depth of digital penetration have increased. The use of other devices (tablets, streaming devices, and “smart” devices), for example, has increased significantly over the past year (from 8% in 2021 to 13% in 2022), as Indians aggressively adopt new technologies and services. This is true even if 100% of users access the internet via mobile.
The most widely used services in India continue to be social media, digital communications, and digital entertainment. In fact, with an astounding 51% YoY growth in social commerce, Indians are quickly adopting social media platforms as the next e-commerce destination.
A projected 338 million consumers of digital payments have been reached, with a 13% increase over 2021, 36% of whom are in rural India. UPI users make up 99% of all consumers of digital payments.
