India expected to be world’s largest Facebook user base by 2016

India loves social networks. If you had any doubts about that, look to eMarketer’s latest findings. The research firm says India will record the highest social networking growth in the world, with the number of new Indians logging on to Facebook, Twitter and the likes expected to increase by 37.4 percent this year. More interestingly, the report says India will have the world’s largest Facebook population by 2016.

While India is expected to add the most new users, Indonesia's will be the second highest contributor to social networks with a 28.7 percent increase in usage, while Mexico is in third place with an expected growth rate of 21.1 per cent, reports The Economic Times. The research estimates Facebook will have a global monthly user base of 1.026 billion this year. And a massive 1.61 billion people will log on social networks overall, from all devices.

India loves Facebook

Based on this trend, India will beat the US in terms of the number of Facebook users by 2016. Currently 146.8 million, US citizens log on to Facebook and India is a distant second. India, with its large population and high expected growth rate in terms of new users and better connectivity, will outpace US in three years.

India would have had a harder chance of beating the US had Facebook been allowed in China, a country the research considers having zero users. Hypothetically speaking, if Facebook is legalised in China before 2016, it could very well beat India to the top spot.