Rural Internet Users See Two Times More Growth Than Urban Users

Rural internet users witnessed two times more growth than urban users according to the 'Internet in India Report 2024', prepared by the Internet and Mobile Association of India and Kantar.

It was presented at the 19th Indian Digital Summit organised by the Internet And Mobile Association Of India. The report found that there were 90 million more internet users in rural areas compared to urban areas. There were a total of 488 million users in rural areas, making up 55% of the total internet-using population.

There has been 10% year-on-year growth in rural internet users as compared to 5% growth in urban internet usage statistics. There were 395 million rural users browsing OTT content, making it 58 million more than urban users.

When it came to online communication, there were 335 million users, which meant there were 40 million more users in rural areas.

Social media usership in rural areas was found to be 347 million with 39 million more rural users engaged in social media.

The report also noted a narrowing gender gap in internet usage with 47% female and 53% male internet users. The number of internet users in India reached 886 million in 2024, growing 8% YoY, and is set to surpass 900 million by 2025.

Around 98% of internet users accessed content in Indic languages. Tamil Telugu and Malayalam were the most popular Indian languages among internet users, according to the report. Around 57% of urban internet users prefered consuming content in regional languages.

The report stated that this signalled a growing demand for local-language content across platforms. Mobile devices were the primary means of internet access irrespective of the rural or urban demographic.

Around 41% of the Indian population reported not accessing the internet. The highest reported reason for not doing so was a lack of awareness of the benefits of internet usage (25%). Close to 20% of users reported that the internet was too difficult for them to use and understand.