(Image source from: Report says)

According to a report from the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) and IMRB International, India is estimated to have 402 million internet users by December, which is 49% more compared to previous year.

The users who have accessed the internet at least once in the life time were analyzed in the study. In case the monthly active users were considered, India is estimated to hit the 426 million mark by June 2016. This means that India could soon have more internet users compared to the US and will stand behind China.

The internet users in the US in 2015 were over 300 million, as per the estimation from Statista. China has the largest internet user base in the World.

The IAMAI said in a statement that, “In October 2015, there were 375 million internet users in India. Currently, India has the third largest internet users’ base in the word but it is estimated that by December, India will overtake the US as the second largest Internet users’ base in the world. China currently leads with more than 600 million internet users.”

“While internet in India took more than a decade to move from 10 million to 100 million and three years from 100 to 200 million, it took only a year to move from 300 to 400 million users,” the IAMAI statement said.

 “(A) major driver for such a noticeable increase in the internet users is the outburst of smartphone users in rural India. The penetration of mobile internet users is currently 9%. Compared to 4% last year, the mobile penetration has grown more than two times,” the report said.

Mumbai is the major Indian city with the highest number of active internet users and when it comes to smaller towns, Surat leads the pack.

-Sumana