Active internet users to reach 900 mn by 2025: Report

Fifty-two percent of Indians, which amounts to approximately 759 million, are active internet users who are accessing the internet at least once a month. By 2025 the number is expected to grow to 900 million. This is for the first time that the majority of Indians have become active internet users. The findings are a part of a joint report by the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) and Kantar, marketing data and analytics company.

The annual ‘Internet in India Report 2022’ report is based on the ICUBE 2022 study, covering over 86,000 households across all states and Union Territories of India (barring Lakshadweep).

The report also points out that out of 759 million ‘active’ internet users in India for 2022, 399 million are from rural India, while 360 million are from urban India, indicating that rural India continues to drive the growth of the internet in the country.

Rural India digital penetration growth outpaces urban growth

Urban India, with approximately 71 percent internet penetration witnessed only 6 percent growth, with much of the overall gain in numbers coming from rural India which witnessed 14 percent growth rate over the past one year. It is estimated that 56 percent of all new internet users in India will be from rural India by 2025.

Digital Divide, however, continues to plague the positive narrative with a huge disparity in internet penetrations across states, with Bihar (32 percent) having less than half the level of internet penetration than the leading state Goa (70 percent).

Even though the gender divide persists till date with 54 percent male users, it is heartening to note that 57 percent of all new users in 2022 were females. It is estimated that by 2025, 65 percent of all new users will be women, which will help correct the gender divide.

Digital entertainment and social media dominate usage

The report suggests that digital penetration has improved not only in terms of spread but also in terms of depth. For instance, while 100 percent of users access the internet via mobile, the use of other devices (tablets, streaming devices, ‘smart’ devices) has witnessed a considerable rise over one year (from 8 percent in 2021 to 13 percent in 2022) as Indians proactively adopt new technologies and services.

In terms of usage, Digital Entertainment, Digital Communications and Social Media continue to be the most popular services in India. In fact, Indians are fast adapting social media platforms as the next e-commerce destination, with a staggering 51 percent year-on-year growth in Social Commerce.

Digital Payments has witnessed 13 percent growth over 2021 to reach an estimated 338 million users, of which 36 percent are from rural India. Around 99 percent of all digital payment users are UPI users.

Key takeaways:

Indian internet users to reach 900 mn by 2025

Rural internet penetration growth (14 percent) outpaces urban (6 percent)

By 2025, 65 percent of all new internet users will be women

Digital entertainment, communications and social media most popular services in India