Internet in India Report 2022

May 4, 2023

A new report published by IAMAI and Kantar revealed that a majority of Indians have become active internet users in 2022, with 52% of the population or 759 million people accessing the internet at least once a month. The report indicated that the figure of active internet users in India is projected to increase to 900 million by 2025. It was also noted that of the current active internet users in India, 399 million are from rural areas, while 360 million are from urban areas.

Rural India Driving Growth of the Internet

According to the report, rural India is driving the growth of the internet in the country, with 56% of all new internet users in India expected to be from rural areas by 2025. The report revealed that, while urban India had an internet penetration rate of about 71%, it only had a growth rate of 6% in 2022. On the other hand, rural India had a growth rate of 14% over the past year, which led to most of the overall increase in numbers. However, the report underlined the digital divide between states, with Bihar having less than half the level of internet penetration than the leading state of Goa.

Gender Divide Corrected

The report indicated that 54% of active internet users were male, while 57% of new users in 2022 were female. The report estimates that by 2025, 65% of new users will be female, which will help bridge the gender gap. Furthermore, the report states that digital access has improved not only in terms of coverage but also in terms of usage depth. While 100% of users access the internet via mobile, the use of other devices (tablets, streaming devices, ‘smart’ devices) has risen from 8% in 2021 to 13% in 2022.

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