Will India over take USA in the number of Facebook users?

Amidst all the Likes, Comments, Shares and Tags happening all around us there’s one thing brewing! India is on its way to over take USA in the number of Facebook users by 2015! Yes, you heard it right, at least that’s what research and advisory firm Gartner projects*.

Whoa!! Another feather in our cap and a reason for us to turn up our collars! Yes, India is the future of Facebook!

Facebook's User Mapping in India

India has the third largest user base in the world with 51 million users and currently lags way behind the US which has 169 million users. However, with our Internet penetration increasing, India is expected to surpass all the other countries on the Earth as quoted by a report in Businesweek.  According to Facebook, the Monthly Active Users from India peaked to whopping 46mn* users as on 31^st December 2011, which is 132%* of the numbers Facebook clocked on 31^st December 2010. This is higher than many countries including USA. In all, only 4% of India’s population is on Facebook as compared to the 51%* in USA.

Why do experts feel India will surpass all?

Population: We are a country with 1.22 billion people. . This is what’s acting as a magnet for brands, web businesses etc., and Facebook is no exception.  I came across this nice quote by Clara Pring, a social media blogger in Sydney who said, “As far as social networking goes, Indians are the chosen people. Indians want to use social networking in the real, true sense of the term — to grow their network in a social manner using whatever platforms are available to them. That doesn’t mean just the people they know. They are eager to connect with anyone they find interesting or that has something in common anywhere around the world.” This pretty much sums up the current state in India.

Internet Penetration: From 2.9%* in 2008, India’s Internet penetration has gone up to 10.2%. According to an article on Economic times, out of the total 12.1 Crore* of India’s internet users, 37% access Facebook, which comes around 4.5 Crore, which is 3.8% of India’s total population.

Smart Phones and Tablets: Internet via Smart Phones is the next big storm brewing in India.  Smart Phones and Tablets is expected to drive up the  users numbers in India. This drive will be fueled by the fact that Smart Phones and Tablets are now available to the masses at very affordable prices and the data services plan are also available at cheap rates. Facebook is also playing a major role in encouraging Social Networking via Mobile with the “Facebook for Every Phone” application. Facebook is now available in 7 Local Indian Languages which says a lot about Facebook’s interest in India.

On a realistic note, it is still uncertain as to how long Facebook remains the undisputable king of Social Networking Websites or when something new, bigger and better will make a grand entry, but till then we need to keep shouting “Hail Facebook”!!!!

*Sources: Facts and Figures mentioned in the article have been taken by reading from the following websites IndiaSocial.in, Firstpost.com, Ibnlive.in, Economictimes.com, escapefromindia.wordpress.com.

Featured Image Courtesy-Opensourceway