India has just become Facebook’s largest market, globally. With 241 million or 24.1 crore active users from India, there ain’t any other country which has a larger presence on Facebook than India.
This way, India has beaten the USA in supplying the most number of daily active users to Facebook. In the US, there are 240 million or 24 crore active users.
However, the massive gender gap among Indian Facebook users is an issue which is alarming. While 54% of all American Facebook users are women, in India, women constitute only 24%.
In terms of cities, Bangkok has emerged as the single largest user base with 3.5 crores or 1.6% of the population is on Facebook. From India, Delhi tops the list of largest cities to be on Facebook with 1.5 crores or 0.7% of the population on their platform.
Here are the top 5 countries on Facebook:
- India: 24.1 crore users
- USA: 24 crore users
- Brazil: 13.9 crore users
- Indonesia: 12.6 crore users
- Mexico: 8.5 crore users
And top 5 cities:
- Bangkok: 3.5 crore users
- Jakarta: 2.6 crore users
- Dhaka: 2.5 crore users
- Mexico City: 1.6 crore users
- Istambul/Delhi/Lima: 1.5 crore users
Facebook’s Largest Userbase: India
Overall, there are 46.2 crore Internet users in India, as per latest data.
Out of this, 24.1 crore, which is more than 50% share, are active on Facebook, which has made India as the biggest market for Facebook. We have even beaten the USA, in the number of users. The USA is the country where Facebook was born, launched by Mark Zuckerberg after his crush rejected him.
This new data was shared by Facebook with advertisers, to showcase their penetration and strength within the digital world.
And going by the numbers, this is indeed massive.
Out of 24.1 crore active users in India, 84% of the users access Facebook via mobile; while 54% access the portal once in a day.
Note here, that as per Facebook data, there are 734 million or 73.4 crore telecom users in India and 46.2 crore Internet users. This means that 32% of all Indian telecom users are on Facebook right now, and 51% of all Internet users are using Facebook.
Facebook Expansion In India: The Disturbing Stats
The very fact that India has beaten the USA in the number of active Facebook users is certainly a great news. But along with that, we must retrospect on the disturbing statistics and data as well.
The biggest of them is the gender inequality visible among Indian users.
While 54% of all Facebook users in the USA are women, only 24% of users in India are women. This means Facebook is still male-dominated in India, just like so many other things.
The other cause for concern is penetration of Internet and Social Media among Indians.
With 46.2 crore Internet users, penetration of Internet is only 36% in India, compared to 88% in the USA, with 28.7 crore users.
24.1 crore Facebook users in India translates to mere 19% penetration. In the USA, 24 crore Facebook users means penetration of 73%, which is massive.
It would be interesting to observe how the usage pattern changes in India, in the coming months, as more and more people, join the Internet highway, and then subsequently become part of the social media platforms.
Why, do you think, Facebook has been able to attract India and create their largest userbase? Do share your opinions by commenting right here!