759 million Indians use Internet, tally will shoot to 900 million by 2025: Report

A whopping 759 million Indians are now active Internet users, accessing the net at least once a month, and this number is expected to zoom to 900 million by 2025.

This is the first time a majority of Indians have become active Internet users, a joint report by the industry body IAMAI and market data analytics firm Kantar said.

Also read: WEF unveils new internet security principles to help protect up to 1 bn users

The Internet base in India is expected to grow to 900 million by 2025, it said.

“This is for the first time that the majority of Indians have become active Internet users,” the Internet in India Report 2022 said.

Of the 759 million Internet users in India for 2022, 399 million were from rural India and 360 million from urban India, indicating that the countryside continues to drive the industry.

Urban/rural India

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

The digital divide still plagues the country, with a huge disparity in Internet penetration across states.

Also read: Free, unlicensed 6 GHz spectrum works for all — users, mobile operators, tech firms

Bihar with 32 per cent users has less than half the level of Internet penetration than Goa where 70 per cent people use the Internet.

But even though the gender divide persists with 54 per cent male users, 57 per cent of all new users in 2022 were females, the report said.

“It is estimated that by 2025, 65 per cent of all new users will be women, which will help correct the gender divide.”

Digital spread

According to the report, digital penetration has improved not only in terms of spread but also in terms of depth.

“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 per cent year-over-year (YoY) growth in social commerce,” the report said.

Also read: 123456, qwerty: Indians continue to use easily hackable internet passwords

Digital payments have witnessed a 13 per cent growth over 2021 to reach an estimated 338 million users, of which 36 per cent are from rural India.

Ninety-nine per cent of all digital payment users were UPI users.

(With inputs from agencies)