Rural India had 44% more internet users compared to urban markets: Nielsen report

The report titled ‘India Internet Report 2023’, also mentioned that nearly half of rural India was on the internet, with strong growth of 30%, and more headroom for growth in the future.

The government defines ‘rural’ as any area with a population of under 5,000 and population density of less than 400 per sq km, with more than 25% of the male population engaged in agricultural pursuits.

The report also put the total number of internet users in India by the end of December 2022, at 720 million.

Also read | Report says over 700 million active internet users in India as of December 2022

According to the report, the gap between daily users in urban versus rural areas also reduced in 2022, compared to the previous year, with 93% of the urban users using the internet daily, while in rural areas the number stands at 86%.

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The active internet user base aged 12 years and older had grown more than 20% year-on-year to reach 595 million in 2022.

ETtech

There were more than 450 million smartphone users in the country, with a little more than one-third of Indians owning a smartphone.

As per the study, there were more than 450 million monthly video watchers in India, with video watching and video calling being the top two online activities amongst those aged 12 and older.

According to the report, 85 million smartphone users in rural India shared their smartphones. A primary reason for this, the report highlights, was video watching.

The youth demographic in both urban and rural areas showed a high interest in both entertainment and e-commerce.

Additionally, early teens were particularly interested in playing online games, but also showed significant interest in watching videos and listening to music online, with only a slight drop-off compared to the wider youth demographic.

According to the report, there had been a significant surge in the usage of online banking and digital payments in India, with a remarkable growth rate of 43.

In addition, the category of Digital News has also witnessed a growth of 20% over the last year, as almost one out of five Indians now consume news through digital channels. Nevertheless, there remains a vast untapped market for Digital News, indicating ample room for growth in the future.