Indian mobile web set to overtake desktop usage, bucking BRICS trend

Mobile web usage looks set to overtake desktop usage in India by the end of the year.

Source: StatCounter Global Stats – Mobile vs. Desktop Market Share

THe latest numbers fromStatcounter show that online desktop usage is plummeting at almost exactly the same rate as mobile web usage is surging.

That large numbers of Indians are using their phones to go online isn’t surprising when you consider the prohibitive cost of broadband, and the relative affordability of phones in the country.

What is surprising, however, how rapid the rise of mobile web usage has been in the country, especially in comparison to other emerging markets.

In Brazil, desktops have actually made a bit of a comeback in the last couple of months:

Source: StatCounter Global Stats – Mobile vs. Desktop Market Share

Desktops web usage is on the decline in China, but at a much slower rate:

Source: StatCounter Global Stats – Mobile vs. Desktop Market Share

The growth of mobile web usage in Russia has been slow but has picked up since the beginning of 2012:

Source: StatCounter Global Stats – Mobile vs. Desktop Market Share

South Africa had a sudden spike in mobile web usage at the beginning of 2012, followed by a desktop resurgence:

Source: StatCounter Global Stats – Mobile vs. Desktop Market Share

Even in Africa as whole, where 91% of people own a mobile phone, desktops are still far and away the most common method of accessing the web:

Source: StatCounter Global Stats — Mobile vs. Desktop Market Share

In fact, according to recently released stats from Google, around 31% of people in sub-Saharan Africa only access the web via desktop computers, while 10% only use mobile and 11% use both.