India can be No 1 market in coming years: Facebook

New Delhi: Popular social networking site Facebook expects India to become its No 1 market in terms of number of users, leaving behind the US and Indonesia.

Facebook claims to have over 800 million active users globally.

“We are confident that in the coming years, India will be our leading market…Currently, it is at No 3 in terms of number of users. Last announced number was 30 million for India and 45 million for Indonesia. I’m sure India will be No 1 in the coming years,” Facebook Vice President (Mobile and Corporate Development) Vaughan Smith said here.

[caption id=“attachment_126537” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“Facebook claims to have over 800 million active users globally. AFP”]  [/caption]

Companies across sectors like FMCG, retail and hospitality are using Facebook to reach customers, promote products and gauge market perception through the social media platform.

More from News & Analysis

What is the US HIRE Bill and why is India’s $250-billion IT sector worried? Is the internet dead? What's this theory that OpenAI's Sam Altman says might be true?

Smith added that more than half of these users in India are believed to be accessing the website from their mobile devices.

According to the company website, more than 350 million active users currently access Facebook through their mobile devices and more than 475 mobile operators globally work to deploy and promote Facebook mobile products.

Facebook on Tuesday announced a global tie-up with mobile phone chip maker Mediatek, through which the application would be embedded on low cost handsets, enabling users to access the website through a single icon.

“As people become mobile and are on the go, they want to communicate with their friends, share information and that we think will drive the need for devices. We want to create a fast and engaging experience for users even on devices costing below say $50 (Rs 2,500), the idea is to have more users on board,” Smith said.

PTI