<p>A study by consumer insights firm Nielsen revealed a 45% growth in active internet users in rural India since 2019, outshining urban users’ growth at 28% in the same period. Bharat (a term often used to refer to rural India) also registered a presence of 35.2 crore internet users, about 20% higher than urban India.</p>.<p>“Availability of budget smartphones and affordable mobile data along with the Indian government’s efforts to strengthen the existing digital infrastructure” have led to faster levels of internet adoption across the country, said Dolly Jha, Managing Director, Nielsen India.</p>.<p>Jha pegged the growth in internet users in villages and smaller towns to a surge in the number of female users and their willingness to adopt technology at a faster pace.</p>.<p>The study also highlighted that almost 60% of India’s rural population was still not actively using the internet, paving headroom for further growth.</p>.<p>Urban India, on the other hand, has registered a 59% penetration growth with 29.4 crore active internet users.</p>.<p>India has 64.6 crore active Internet users aged two years and above as of December 2021, the study showed. The number of active internet users who are aged 12 years and above is 59.2 crore, 37% higher than the 2019 level.</p>.<p>Despite 56% of active internet users belonging to rural India, online shopping remains to be heavily dominated by its urban counterpart. Almost 47% of the online shoppers are urban and affluent users. Those using online banking services and digital payments have also been identified as urban and affluent users, with two-thirds of them belonging to the age bracket of 20 to 39 years. While the usage is higher in urban areas, 46% of its users are from rural India.</p>.<p>While social networking or chatting remains the top activity on the internet across India with 50.3 crore active internet users, video watching and listening to online music are among the top five activities done on the internet. Close to 44 crore users watch videos on the internet, of which 54% are from rural India.</p>.<p>The male to female split among active internet users is 60:40.</p>
<p>A study by consumer insights firm Nielsen revealed a 45% growth in active internet users in rural India since 2019, outshining urban users’ growth at 28% in the same period. Bharat (a term often used to refer to rural India) also registered a presence of 35.2 crore internet users, about 20% higher than urban India.</p>.<p>“Availability of budget smartphones and affordable mobile data along with the Indian government’s efforts to strengthen the existing digital infrastructure” have led to faster levels of internet adoption across the country, said Dolly Jha, Managing Director, Nielsen India.</p>.<p>Jha pegged the growth in internet users in villages and smaller towns to a surge in the number of female users and their willingness to adopt technology at a faster pace.</p>.<p>The study also highlighted that almost 60% of India’s rural population was still not actively using the internet, paving headroom for further growth.</p>.<p>Urban India, on the other hand, has registered a 59% penetration growth with 29.4 crore active internet users.</p>.<p>India has 64.6 crore active Internet users aged two years and above as of December 2021, the study showed. The number of active internet users who are aged 12 years and above is 59.2 crore, 37% higher than the 2019 level.</p>.<p>Despite 56% of active internet users belonging to rural India, online shopping remains to be heavily dominated by its urban counterpart. Almost 47% of the online shoppers are urban and affluent users. Those using online banking services and digital payments have also been identified as urban and affluent users, with two-thirds of them belonging to the age bracket of 20 to 39 years. While the usage is higher in urban areas, 46% of its users are from rural India.</p>.<p>While social networking or chatting remains the top activity on the internet across India with 50.3 crore active internet users, video watching and listening to online music are among the top five activities done on the internet. Close to 44 crore users watch videos on the internet, of which 54% are from rural India.</p>.<p>The male to female split among active internet users is 60:40.</p>