1) India May Be on Its Way to Becoming a Global Superpower

The Republic of India is considered one of the possible emerging superpowers of our time. Its economy is one of the fastest growing on the planet, with a GDP rate of 7.3% in 2015. This, among other factors—demographics, location, global trends in technology and energy sourcing—gives economists and academics reason to believe it has the potential to become a superpower in the foreseeable future.

2) India is a Democracy—the Largest in the World

Unlike China, however, India has a dynamic democracy, officially supporting Western values like equality and freedom while actively working to improve infrastructure and quality of life for its citizens.

These shared values mean that Western companies have an inherent advantage over Russian, Chinese, and other non-Western companies. The Indian market shows a preference for Western products and services, and a distrust of Chinese businesses—something the Chinese market has been trying to overcome.

3) India has a Population of 1.3 Billion People

India is the second most populous country in the world, second only to China—and not by much.

4) India has a Significant Online Presence—and Potential for a much, much Greater One

According to Live Internet Stats, in 2016, 462 million Indians used the Internet, accounting for 13.5% of Internet users worldwide. But this is only 35% of the population of India.

By contrast, 286 million Internet users were from the USA, representing 89% of the US population.

As infrastructure improves and more and more Indians gain access to the Internet, the number of Indian Internet users will grow. A report released by the Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) noted that the number of native-language speaking Indian users is growing by 47% every year, largely thanks to greater prevalence of smartphones in rural areas.

With 65% of the population yet to gain Internet access, this is a truly enormous potential customer base.

5) Only 20% of the Indian Population is Literate in English

As a former British colony, India does use English as one of its official languages. However, only 20% of the population has English literacy. India is home to an incredibly diverse population that speaks 1,652 different languages (though “only” 23 of those are used officially). The IAMAI report mentioned above found that 47% of urban mobile users—most likely to be proficient in English—preferred to surf the Internet in their native tongue.

Obviously, translating your content into 23 different languages may prove very expensive. However, 41% of the population speaks Hindi, so if you have your content available in that language, you’ve opened your potential customer base to some 422 million Hindi speakers. Add Bengali and Telugu, and that’s an additional 157 million people!

6) India has a Robust Pool of Young Workers and Skilled Professionals

65% of the population of India is aged 35 or under. This gives the country a very competitive edge in the coming decades, especially given the aging population of developed European countries. Young workers help grow the economy, and they are also more flexible in terms of acquiring new skills, trying new products, and gaining proficiency in Internet usage.

All these make adapting your content to Indian audiences very worthwhile.