India internet surprisingly low relative to population
The thing that surprised me about this view of worldwide internet penetration was India particularly compared to China considering both countries have similar populations. I am aware of the poverty in India and is that the reason? Is India that much more poor than China who have 1/3 of their population online? I wonder if there is something more in terms of lack of infrastructure.
Just curious – anyone with additional insights on India?
For the full graphic, go here to thenextweb.
UPDATE:
I found this here that indicates there is an enormous difference in the degree of poverty between India and China by a factor of 10 times.
India’s per capita earning is US$440 per year against US$990 per year in China
As per the World Bank, the poverty line definition is US$1 per person per day or US$365/person/year, for underdeveloped countries like India, China etc. As per the official data from both governments, China has 3% population below the poverty line, compared to India’s 26 to 29%! Only better governance will help.
This actually didn’t surprise me at all… something like 50% of the world’s poor are in India.
Wolfram Alpha has the GDP comparison here:
http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=india+gdp+vs+china+gdp
johnphilipgreen
January 20, 2011 at 11:42
I knew there is a lot of poverty but the magnitude is astounding and somehow does not come across in the news stories about China vs India. Fascinating.
Colin Henderson
January 20, 2011 at 11:52