43 Percent Indians Use Internet Actively, Maharashtra Most Internet-Friendly State: Kantar

Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) has released the ‘ICUBE 2020' report in partnership with Kantar and it predicts that active Internet users (AIU) in India are expected to grow from 622 million in 2020 to 900+ million in 2025. This indicates that there will be a growth of about 45 percent in the adoption of the Internet in India in the next five years. The report says about 43 percent of the total population in India uses the Internet at least once a month at present. And Maharashtra has the highest Internet penetration with 61 percent of the population using it.

The IAMAI Kantar ICUBE 2020 report says that of the 1.43 billion population of India, 622 million individuals are active Internet users. This translates to about 43 percent of the total population across urban and rural India. Out of the 622 million, 323 million come from urban areas and 299 million from rural areas. Internet adoption in rural areas has grown more in the last year compared to urban areas. In urban India, active Internet users have reportedly grown by 4 percent over last year, while in rural areas it has increased by 13 percent over the last year. The report further offers interesting statistics like out of the total Internet population in India, 58 percent are male, and 42 percent are female.

The report also shows the state-wise distribution of the active Internet population. At the state level, Maharashtra has the highest penetration of active Internet users at 61 percent, followed by Goa at 60 percent and Kerala at 59 percent. Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, and Bihar have the lowest Internet population at 29 percent, 29 percent, and 24 percent, respectively. Cities that have the most active Internet users are Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, and Kolkata, according to the report.

The male-to-female ratio of active internet users in urban areas is reportedly 57:43 and in rural areas is 58:42. The ICUBE 2020 report claims that mobile phones have been a key driver for the growth of Internet in India, claiming that all active Internet users use smartphones to access the Internet. While 100 percent of active users access the Internet through mobile phones, 17 percent access it using a personal computer, and 6 percent use other devices such as tablets, streaming devices, smart speakers, and smart TVs. The report says an active internet user spends around 107 minutes on the Internet daily, and most Internet users browse for entertainment, communication, and social media activities.