Hyderabad: According to the extensive fifth National Family Health Survey, there is a drastic difference in internet usage between men and women in India. The survey data also shows that there is a huge difference in internet usage between rural and urban populations.
Further, the difference in internet usage with respect to gender can be seen in both urban and rural areas. Telangana and Andhra Pradesh were in the bottom five states with respect to women’s access to the internet.
Phase 1 of the fifth National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5), provided data on 131 key indicators with a special focus on maternal and child health. The main aim of the survey, conducted across 22 states and union territories is to help provide an indicator for tracking 30 Sustainable Development Goals to be achieved by 2030.
Close to 3.07 lakh households across the country were surveyed between the time period of 2018-2019.
According to the survey, on average, 62.16 percent of all men have ever used the internet against a dismal 42.6 percent among women in India.
In Telangana, 43.9% of urban women have ever accessed the internet, against the national average of 56.81 percent. Andhra Pradesh however, has a far lower rate at only 33.9% of urban women ever using the internet.
Coming to rural areas, the rate of internet usage among women further declines. The national average of people who ever accessed the internet is 33.94 percent for women, against 55.6 percent among men.
In Telangana, only 15.8 percent of rural women have ever accessed the internet whereas in Andhra Pradesh it’s 15.4 percent.
The five states with the lowest percentage of women who ever used the internet in urban areas in India were Andhra Pradesh (33.9%), Bihar (38.4%), Tripura (36.6%), Telangana (43.9%), and Gujarat (48.9%).
The five states with the lowest percentage of women who ever used the internet in rural areas in India were West Bengal (14%), Andhra Pradesh (15.4%), Telangana (15.8%), Tripura (17.7%), and Bihar (17%).