Facebook claims 71M active users in India or around half of netizens in the country

World's largest social networking site Facebook has disclosed that its monthly active users (MAUs) in India have increased 54 per cent to reach 71 million, as of December 2012. Given various estimates of internet users in the country and pegged between 100-150 million according to Facebook, the social site has managed to hook over half of internet users in India.

But it has still a long way to go in this country as this accounts for less than 7 per cent of Facebook's total global MAU that rose 25 per cent to 1.06 billion, with Brazil, India and Indonesia representing key sources of growth,compared to 2011, as per Facebook's annual report released last week.

India, along with Brazil, Mexico and Japan, represents relatively less-penetrated large markets for Facebook.

The report revealed that 84 per cent of the global MAUs came from outside the US. Brazil registered an increase of 81 per cent to reach 67 million, compared to 2011, while Indonesia showed 25 per cent growth to reach 60 million MAUs.

Worldwide daily active users (DAUs) increased 28 per cent to 618 million on an average during December 2012 from 483 million during the same period in 2011, with major contributors being Brazil, India and Japan. The company attributes the overall growth in DAUs to increased mobile usage. The firm had DAUs of 584 million as of September 30, 2012.

During the fourth quarter of last year, the number of DAUs using personal computers declined modestly, compared to the third quarter, including declines in key markets such as the US, while mobile DAUs continued to increase, the firm said.

Worldwide mobile MAUs increased 57 per cent to 680 million as of December 31 last year, from 432 million as of December 31 in 2011. In all regions, an increasing number of MAUs are accessing Facebook through mobile devices, with users in the US, India and Brazil representing key sources of mobile growth over the fourth quarter of 2012, as compared to the third quarter of 2012.

Approximately 157 million mobile MAUs accessed Facebook solely through mobile apps or its mobile website during the month ended December 31, 2012, increasing 25 per cent from 126 million during the month ended September 30 last year. The remaining 523 million mobile MAUs accessed Facebook from both personal computers and mobile devices during that month.

While most of its mobile users also access Facebook through personal computers, the company anticipates that the rate of growth in mobile usage will exceed the growth in usage through personal computers for the foreseeable future and that the usage through personal computers may be flat or continue to decline in certain markets, including key developed markets such as the US – partly due to its focus on developing mobile products to encourage mobile usage of Facebook.

(Edited by Sanghamitra Mandal)