India All Set to Beat US As The 2nd Largest Internet Market With 302 Mn Internet Users By Dec 2014

According to a new research report ‘Internet in India 2014’, jointly published by the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) and IMRB International, the number of internet users in India would reach 302 Mn by December 2014, registering a Y-o-Y growth of 32% over last year.

The Overall Internet Users

In October 2014, there were about 278 Mn internet users in the country and as per the report findings, India has the third largest internet users’ base in the world. Further, the report mentions that the number of Internet users in India will overtake the US as the second largest internet users by December 2014 after China which currently leads with more than 600 Mn users.

The Internet user base in the country is further estimated to grow to 354 Mn by June 2015.

Urban Vs Rural

The number of internet users in urban India has grown by 29% from October 2013 to reach 177 Mn in October 2014 and is further expected to reach 190 Mn by December 2014. Whereas, internet users in the rural India in October has grown from 59.6 Mn in June 2013 to 101 Mn in October 2014 and is further expected to reach 112 Mn in December 2014.

Frequency of Access

The report has further classified the internet usage among the people based on their frequency of access. As of June 2014, 31.5 Mn users (61%) in 35 cities were using Internet on a daily basis, which has gone up by 51% from June 2013. And 96% of the Internet users are accessing Internet at least once a week.

Purpose of Access

According to the survey by the two firms, for nearly 93% of the respondents, the primary use of Internet is Search, followed by Online Communication and Social Networking. In case of rural India, Entertainment is the primary reason for internet usage, followed by communication and social networking.

Mobile Internet Users

India has witnessed a steady rise in the number of mobile internet users as well. As per the report, the number of mobile internet users is expected to grow from 159 Mn in October to reach 173 Mn by the end of December.

Source: IAMAI-IMRB I-cube estimates

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