Recent research has suggested that by 2016, Facebook will have more users in India than any other  country.

According to reports, India has one of the fastest growing social media user-bases in the world, with an increase of around 37 percent in 2013.

The data from research group eMarketer showed that the US is currently home to the social giant’s biggest audience, with more than 146 million users across the country. India follows in second place.

The report also pointed out that India’s standing is helped massively by the fact that Facebook has been prohibited in China. As a result, eMarketer’s researchers carried out the study assuming there are no users in the Southeast Asian country.

As well as the growth in India, increases in adoption were also seen in Indonesia (28.7 percent) and Mexico (21.2 percent).

While the growth in social media user numbers has been slowing down in recent months, it’s obvious that some of the world’s emerging markets are showing strength. This has been linked to increases in the availability of smartphones and tablets, as well as improvements in the accessibility of faster internet connections.

By the end of the year, eMarketer has said that more than 1.6 billion people worldwide will log on to a social networking site at least once a month across all devices. This represents a rise of 14.2 percent on the numbers from 2012, and similar growth is expected to continue into 2014, with the group saying that in four years’ time, around 2.3 billion people will be classed as regular users.

The report has highlighted the wide-reaching appeal of social networks. With the internet allowing small businesses to trade internationally with relative ease, sites like Facebook and Twitter will no doubt be useful for those trying to reach target audiences on other continents.

Graeme Parton

Graeme has experience creating content for online sources and for the radio, and at university he studied Multimedia Journalism.