67% of India's 451mn Internet users are male: IAMAI

New Delhi, September 26 (IANS) About 67 per cent of India's 451 million monthly active Internet users are male, according to a report brought out by industry body Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI).

In terms of Internet users, India is now second only to China, but with only 36 per cent Internet penetration in India, there is still much headroom for growth, said the report titled "India Internet 2019".

The gender gap is higher in rural areas as the report showed that in urban areas, 62 per cent Internet users are male, but their proportion goes up to 72 per cent in rural areas.

Among states, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Delhi have a higher proportion of female Internet users, said the report.

Of the 451 million monthly active users, 385 million are over 12 years of age and 66 million are in the age bracket of 5 to 11 years, who access Internet on the devices of family members.

At the state level, the National Capital Region of Delhi registered the highest Internet penetration followed by Kerala, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Punjab.

Among the cites, Mumbai and Delhi top the list with 11.7 million and 11.2 million Internet users' respectively.

Bengaluru and Kolkata with 6.1 million users are third, followed by Chennai with 5.4 million Internet users.

The report also finds that 72 per cent of urban Internet users or approximately 139 million use Internet daily.

On the other hand, approximately 109 million or 57 per cent of the rural Internet users access Internet daily.

According to the report, nearly two-thirds of the Internet population in India are daily users.

While nine out of 10 users' in urban areas access the Internet at least once a week, young users, aged between 16-29 years, are the most frequent users.

However, there is still a section of users, who use Internet less than once a week. Approximately one in five rural Internet users belong to this category.

In India, nearly one-third of users access Internet for more than one hour in urban India, whereas in rural India, a similar proportion of users access Internet for 15-30 minutes.

With better connectivity, quality of service and affordability of mobile Internet, there could be an increase in rural consumers spending more time on the Internet in future.

The research found that two-thirds of Internet users in India are in the age group of 12-29 years.

Internet consumption at home is still prevalent across urban and rural areas. However, with a third of the urban population accessing Internet while travelling, it shows that Internet consumption via mobile devices has worked its way into the daily life of the consumers today.