India Has World’s Second-Largest Internet User Base
Half of the world’s population now has access to the internet.
India has the world’s second-largest internet user base.
Nearly 12 percent of the 3.8 billion people using the internet globally belong to India, behind 21 percent in China, according to Mary Meeker’s 2019 Internet Trends Report. The U.S. stood third with an 8 percent contribution.
The global internet user base grew 6 percent in 2018, a 100 basis points decline from the previous year. The overall internet penetration, however, advanced to 51 percent of the world population.
Reliance Jio
The report noted Reliance Jio’s impact in India as the telecom operated doubled the number of users to 307 million in a year, and also saw a twofold jump in data usage.
Reliance Jio, according to Meeker’s report, is growing rapidly among the non-U.S. internet and technology companies. Jio’s services such as music, movies, fashion, television. Reliance Retail, which runs offline stores, has also expanded its presence in the country.
Here are the other global trends from the report:
Time Dedicated
People all over the world are spending most of their time online on YouTube, Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, among others, the report said.
The daily time spent on social media, however, grew only 1 percent this year compared to 6 percent last year.
News And Social Media
Internet users exhibit a preference for negative news content, the report said, adding that traditional media outlets use social media websites to tap into trending topics.
Fact-Checking Organisations
The number of media outlets focused on fact-checking and political accountability reporting has grown rapidly, the data show.
Internet Freedom Status
Around 55 percent of internet users are living in countries where sharing political, religious or social content is censored or blocked, the report said. About 47 percent people are said to be living in countries where government surveillance powers have increased over the past year, while an equal percentage of people belong to the countries that have blocked access to social media and messaging platforms.
Where India Stands?
The report suggests that India is moderately regulated in comparison with China that has stricter regulations. The U.S. and seven European Union economies have limited regulations, it said.