India becomes second-largest country with internet users

With 40% growth in the number of internet users, India surpasses USA

GN Bureau | June 2, 2016


#Mary Meeker   #China   #users   #internet   #India  


The annual Internet Trends Report by Mary Meeker says that India is the only exception of the flat growth that internet has witnessed across the world.

Meeker is a former Morgan Stanley internet analyst who is now a partner at venture-capital fund Kleiner Perkins Caufield Byers.
 
According to the report, the number of internet users in India grew rapidly, by 40% in 2015, to 277 million. In the process, India has become the only country where the growth rate of Internet users in 2015 was higher than that the previous year which was 33%. 
 
India has surpassed USA to become the second-largest country in the world in terms of internet users, behind China.
 
Despite this, just about 22% of the Indian market is penetrated, offering scope for huge growth, particularly on mobile.
 
Some of the key findings in the report are: 
  • Global smartphone user growth is down to 21% as compared to 31% and just 10% rise in shipments.  Asia Pacific remains the largest market with a growth of 52% in 2015 as compared to 34% in 2008.
     
  • Also, at $158 per unit, India has the lowest average smartphone cost, though it is about 10 percent of the per capita income.
     
  • Internet advertising in the US has grown by about 20% since 2014. An average global mobile user uses more than 12 apps daily, while 80% of time is spent in 3 Apps. In the US these are Facebook, Chrome and YouTube, while worldwide it is Facebook, WhatsApp and Chrome.
     
  • Video viewership is exploding, with Snapchat and Facebook Live leading the way.
     
  • Messaging continues to grow rapidly and is dominated by WhatsApp, Facebook and WeChat.

Comments

 

Other News

RBI pauses to assess inflation risks, policy transmission

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has begun the new fiscal year with a calibrated pause, keeping the repo rate unchanged at 5.25 per cent in its April Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting. The decision, taken unanimously, reflects a shift from aggressive policy action to cautious observation after a signi

New pathways for tourism growth

Traditionally, India’s tourism policy has been based on three main components: the number of visitors, building tourist attractions and providing facilities for tourists. Due to the increase in climate-related issues and environmental destruction that occurred over previous years, policymakers have b

Is the US a superpower anymore?

On April 8, hours after warning that “a whole civilisation will die tonight,” US president Donald Trump, exhibiting his unique style of retreating from high-voltage brinkmanship, announced that he agreed to a two-week ceasefire with Iran. The weekend talks in Islamabad have failed and the futur

Machines communicate, humans connect

There is a moment every event professional knows—the kind that arrives without warning, usually an hour before the curtain rises. Months of meticulous planning are in place. And then comes the call: “We’ll also need a projector. For the slides.”   No email

Why India is entering a ‘stagflation lite’ phase

India’s macroeconomic narrative is quietly shifting—from a rare “Goldilocks” equilibrium of stable growth and contained inflation to a more fragile phase where external shocks are beginning to dominate domestic policy outcomes. The numbers still look reassuring at first glance: GDP

Labour law in India: A decade of transition

The story of labour law in India is not just about laws and codes, but also about how the nation has continued to negotiate the position of the workforce within its economic framework. The implementation of the Labour Codes across the country in November 2025 marks a definitive endpoint in the process. Yet


Archives

Current Issue

Opinion

Facebook Twitter Google Plus Linkedin Subscribe Newsletter

Twitter