India has experienced a remarkable surge in the widespread adoption and usage of the Internet over the past five years. This surge, with an impressive penetration rate exceeding 55%, can be largely attributed to telecom companies like Airtel and Jio, who extended the reach of 4G and subsequently introduced 5G, even in rural areas. Interestingly, the number of active Internet users in India have surpassed the 800 million mark by the end of 2023. According to the “Internet in India 2023” report by IAMAI and Kantar, approximately 53.8%, equivalent to 442 million users, hailed from Rural India.
In the digital landscape of 2023, one activity stood out prominently among all the activities Indians do on the internet – Over the Top (OTT) content consumption. A whopping 86.1% of Internet users in India, totalling 707 million people, were actively indulged in enjoying OTT content in both audio and video formats in 2023.
Other online activities include social media browsing, communication, online gaming, digital payments, and more.
It is important to note that communication, which encompasses text/voice/video chat or used email, video conferencing, etc., emerged as the second most engaged activity on the Internet in 2023. An impressive 76% of Internet users in India participated in these communication activities in 2023, totalling 621 million individuals.
Moreover, over 70% of Indian Internet users were actively involved in social media, culminating in a total of 575 million by the end of 2023.
Internet Usage in Rural India Surpassing Urban
What’s remarkable is how rural India surpassed the top 9 cities (Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Surat, Bangalore, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, and Pune) in terms of top Internet activities in 2023.
A striking 53% of the OTT users (audio and video content) in India were from Rural India, a noteworthy contrast to the mere 15% from the top 9 cities. Similarly, over 50% of users engaged in communication, social media, and online gaming activities hailed from rural areas, contrasting with just 16% from the top 9 cities.
An exception was observed in online learning, where only 20% of the Internet users were from rural regions in 2023, while 40% were from the top 9 cities. The overall count of online learning users in India reached 24 million in 2023. These findings are not surprising, given that popular online learning platforms such as Upgrad, Unacademy, Coursera, etc., are primarily used by students and working professionals, especially in IT companies. These individuals residing in urban areas are often more focused on advancing their careers through educational opportunities.
In contrast, the lower participation in online learning among rural Indians may be attributed to a preference for leisure activities like gaming and social media browsing rather than educational pursuits. This highlights a notable distinction in the internet usage patterns between urban and rural populations, reflecting varying priorities and interests.
Internet on Shared Devices Increased
A noteworthy finding from the “Internet in India 2023” report was the increasing use of shared devices for internet access. In 2021, only 8% of internet users in India accessed the internet through someone else’s mobile device. However, by the end of 2023, the percentage has surged to 18%. What makes this trend even more intriguing is that a majority of these shared device users to access the Internet in the country, comprising 77%, were females. Additionally, 43% of these users were above the age of 35, and a substantial 63% hailed from rural areas.
Despite the growing digital landscape, a significant 45% of the Indian population, equivalent to 665 million individuals, still does not access the internet. A staggering 79 of them are from Rural India, totalling 526 million. However, there is a slow but steady decline in the share of non-active internet users in India, with a modest growth rate of 3-4 percentage points over the last two years.
Several reasons contribute to the non-adoption of the Internet in India. Some of the prominent factors include finding it too difficult to understand and use (23%), lack of awareness about the benefits of the internet (22%), a disinterest in accessing the internet (22%), restrictions on internet access (21%), and the inability to afford an internet connection or perceiving it as expensive (17%), among other key barriers. These insights underscore the existing challenges in bridging the digital divide and highlight the multifaceted barriers hindering internet adoption in India.
Examining the Internet penetration across states in India, Goa leads the charge with 73%, followed by Maharashtra and Kerala at 69%. In contrast, the top three states with the lowest percentage of people using the Internet include Jharkhand (46%), Uttar Pradesh (41%), and Bihar (37%). The data highlights the need for targeted efforts to enhance digital connectivity and access in areas with lower penetration.
