India's Internet Usage Stands at Only 25 Percent: Study

Internet usage stands at only twenty-five percent in India, finds a new study. Only one-in-four people in the country use the internet, despite the talk of Digital India.

South Korea stands out as the most heavily connected society, with 96 percent of adults reporting Internet use, showed the survey conducted in 37 countries.

‘These stats are shocking, as it means that nearly 78 percent of adults in India do not own a smartphone, and an incredible 80 percent of the population don�t have any clue to what Facebook or Twitter is.’

While majorities use the Internet in much of the world, sub-Saharan Africa and India have much to catch up with, according to the results released on Tuesday.

Smartphone ownership among adults in India went up from 12 percent in 2013 to 22 percent in 2017, while social media use went up from eight to 20 percent during the same period.

That means 78 percent of adults in India do not own a smartphone, and a whopping 80 percent of the population in the country have no clues about Facebook or Twitter.

While the gap in Internet use between emerging and advanced economies has narrowed in recent years, there are still large swaths of the world where significant numbers of citizens do not use the Internet, the study said.

Internet penetration rates -- as measured by Internet use or smartphone ownership -- remain high in North America and much of Europe, as well as in parts of the Asia-Pacific.

Yet, others are not far behind. In Australia, the Netherlands, Sweden, Canada, the US, Israel, the UK, Germany, France and Spain, roughly nine-in-ten report Internet use.

Regionally, sub-Saharan Africa is one of the least wired parts of the globe.

However, among people who use the Internet, those in developing countries often turn out to be more likely than their counterparts in advanced economies to the network via platforms like Facebook and Twitter.

In 2015-16, roughly four-in-ten adults across the emerging nations surveyed said they used social networking sites.

As of 2017, 53 percent use social media. Over the same period, social media use has generally been level in many of the advanced economies surveyed.

The report also showed that there had been a steady increase in Internet use over the past five years among the 19 emerging and developing economies surveyed.

In 2013, only 16 percent of adults in India reported using the Internet. The percentage of adults using the Internet in India went up to 25 percent in 2017.

Between 2013 and 2014, a median of 42 percent across the emerging and developing economies said they accessed the Internet at least occasionally or owned a smartphone.

By 2017, a median of 64 percent was online. Meanwhile, Internet use among the 17 advanced economies surveyed has remained relatively flat, with a median of 87 percent across these nations using the internet at least occasionally in 2017, similar to the 86 percent who said this in 2015 or 2016.

Similarly, in 2013-14, about a quarter of people in emerging and developing economies reported owning a smartphone.

By 2017, that share had risen to 42 percent. Among the advanced economies, 72 percent report owning a smartphone in 2017, the same rate as in 2015-16.

Source: IANS