Facebook users in India as of end December 2011

Facebook users in India as of end December 2011

Indians seem to be graduating to Facebook fast. In the past one year the number of Facebook users in India has doubled. Making Facebook see India as a major growth market.

Facebook users in India and growth in past one year:


The number of Facebook users in India grew 132 per cent (more than double) in the past one year. This is higher than many other countries, including home market in US. Facebook which normally sees varying levels of penetration within the population of Internet users in different countries has an estimated 20-30 per cent penetration rate in India.

Facebook monitors its user base through the number of Monthly Active Users (MAUs), among other metrics.

An MAU is a registered Facebook user who logs in and visits Facebook, shares content or indulges in other activities in the last 30 days as of the date of measurement.

As of December 31, 2011, Facebook had 845 million MAUs, an increase of 39 per cent from December 31, 2010.

The growth is seen across different geographies, with users in Brazil and India representing a key source of growth. An operation team to provide support for users, developers, and advertisers at Hyderabad in India, is specifically set up to solve this purpose. Hyderabad is one among the four regional centres, Facebook has set up in geographies across the globe, which it finds deserving of special attention, for particular reasons.

Facebook had 46 million or 4.6 crore MAUs in India as of December 31, 2011, an increase of 132 per cent from the prior year. The growth in the US was 16 per cent and 268 per cent in Brazil for the same period. Facebook had 161 million MAUs in the US and 37 million in Brazil as on December 31, 2011.

Notably, Brazil like India was a geography where Google’s Orkut was quite popular. Facebook has displaced Orkut as the Top Social network in both the countries. But in its documents for IPO filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission ( SEC) , Facebook still sees Orkut as a source of competition in India, among other rivals in different countries.

Facebook would continue to focus on growing its user base across all geographies, including relatively less-penetrated, large markets such as Brazil, Germany, India, Japan, Russia, and South Korea.

Competitors of Facebook:

Facebook broadly sees all Google's social networking offerings, including Google+, and also with other, largely regional, social networks that have strong positions in particular countries, including Cyworld in Korea, Mixi in Japan, Orkut (owned by Google) in Brazil and India, as it competitors.

About the upcoming IPO:


Facebook plans to list shares on the New York Stock Exchange after its Initial Public Offer (IPO), which could value the company as high as $100 billion ( 5 Lakh crore Indian Rupees). For Facebook, looking to raise $5 billion (25000 crore Indian Rupees) through initial share sale, India and other key geographies are a key source for future growth.

Facebook has near-zero penetration in China, where Facebook access is restricted. --------

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