India's individuals using the Internet (% of population) was 70% in 2025, the latest year in the World Bank's World Development Indicators. That is up 55.1 percentage points from 14.9% in 2015.
Key figures
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Latest | 70% | 2025 |
| Five years earlier | 43.41% | 2020 |
| Ten years earlier | 14.9% | 2015 |
| Highest | 70% | 2025 |
| Lowest | 0% | 1990 |
| Average since 2016 | 42.81% | 2016–2025 |
| First recorded | 0% | 1990 |
What the numbers say
In 2025, India's individuals using the Internet (% of population) rose 5.06 percentage points on 2024 (from 64.94% to 70%).
Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1995 to 2024), the average change was +2.16 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 3.17 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.9 standard deviations above that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.
On record, the biggest yearly rise was 13.88 percentage points in 2020. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.
From 2016 to 2025 the straight-line trend is upward, about 6.63 percentage points a year. A straight line explains 97% of the movement over 10 observed years.
Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.
How it compares
In 2025, India had the 10th highest value of the 10 economies reporting that year. Higher is not always better: for some indicators the lowest value is the one to aim for. See the full ranking.
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| India | 70% | 2025 |
| World | 73.6% | 2025 |
| South Asia | 67.8% | 2025 |
| Lower middle income | 62.9% | 2025 |
Closest to India in the 2025 ranking
- China — 7th of 10: 91.6%
- Azerbaijan — 8th of 10: 90.8%
- Türkiye — 9th of 10: 89.77%
What this measures
Internet users are individuals who have used the Internet (from any location) in the last 3 months. The Internet can be used via a computer, mobile phone, personal digital assistant, games machine, digital TV etc.
Limitations: Operators have traditionally been the main source of telecommunications data, so information on subscriptions has been widely available for most countries. This gives a general idea of access, but a more precise measure is the penetration rate - the share of households with access to telecommunications. During the past few years more information on information and communication technology use has become available from household and business surveys. Also important are data on actual use of telecommunications services. Ideally, statistics on telecommunications (and other information and communications technologies) should be compiled for all three measures: subscriptions, access, and use.
Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a weighted average.
All 35 values
| Year | Individuals using the Internet (% of population) |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 70 |
| 2024 | 64.94 |
| 2023 | 60.25 |
| 2022 | 55.9 |
| 2021 | 49.26 |
| 2020 | 43.41 |
| 2019 | 29.52 |
| 2018 | 20.08 |
| 2017 | 18.2 |
| 2016 | 16.5 |
| 2015 |
Individuals using the Internet (% of population) in nearby economies
- Bangladesh — 53.42% (2024)
- Bhutan — 91.28% (2024)
- Maldives — 85.24% (2024)
- Nepal — 46.32% (2024)
- Sri Lanka — 54.59% (2024)
More infrastructure data for India
- Fixed telephone subscriptions — 39.24 million (2024)
- Fixed telephone subscriptions (per 100 people) — 2.7 (2024)
- Air transport, registered carrier departures worldwide — 1.23 million (2023)
- Air transport, freight (million ton-km) — 1,807 (2023)
- Air transport, passengers carried — 180.42 million (2023)
- Mobile cellular subscriptions — 1.15 billion (2024)
- Mobile cellular subscriptions (per 100 people) — 79.35 (2024)
- Industrial design applications, nonresident, by count — 4,210 (2024)
- Industrial design applications, resident, by count — 36,118 (2024)
- Patent applications, nonresidents
Reading data like this
Questions people ask
- What is India's individuals using the Internet (% of population)?
- 70% in 2025, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).
- How has it changed since 1990?
- It is up 70 percentage points from 0% in 1990. The highest value was 70% in 2025 and the lowest 0% in 1990.
- How does India rank?
- 10th highest of 10 economies with data for 2025.
- Is the latest change in individuals using the Internet (% of population) unusual for India?
- In 2025, India's individuals using the Internet (% of population) rose 5.06 percentage points on 2024 (from 64.94% to 70%). Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1995 to 2024), the average change was +2.16 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 3.17 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.9 standard deviations above that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.
Source
World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator IT.NET.USER.ZS, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: World Telecommunication/ICT Indicators Database, International Telecommunication Union (ITU), uri: https://datahub.itu.int/ Figures are fetched from the World Bank API and refreshed monthly; see the series on data.worldbank.org. The full definition and method are in the World Bank's metadata glossary. Comparisons use the same World Bank release.
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