Indian survey reveals growing rural digital divide

The fifth ‘National Family Health Survey’ conducted across India revealed that there is a growing digital divide, especially amongst women in rural areas. Data gathered from over 300 000 households in 22 states shows that only 56% of Indian women living in cities have access to the Internet, which still compares low to the 73% of urban men that use the Internet. The number of female users in rural areas are even lower with 34% female users compared to 55% male users. According to the survey, Goa, Kerala, and Sikkim are the three Indian states that perform the best on Internet usage among rural women where the percentage goes up to 50%.