New Delhi , Feb 27: A Facebook-commissioned report released by the Economist Intelligence Unit ranks India 47th among 86 countries which were surveyed for inclusive internet connectivity. The report found India fairing at mid-level among the Asian countries which were part of the research. India ranked at 12th spot among the 23 Asian countries which were judged on the basis of 'inclusive internet'.

While the EIU report found India to have a decent infrastructure for transmitting fixed-line internet access, the country fared poorly when it came to usage per household and quality of service.

"India places at or near the top of the lower-middle-income bracket on most indicators, except for availability, where it is 13th out of 23, compromised by low usage and poor quality despite relatively strong infrastructure," the report stated.

This year's report prepared by the EIU covered 91 per cent of the world's population, as a total of 86 most populous countries were surveyed against the 75 nations last year.

The report also raises alarm bell on gender ratio gap among the internet users. On an average, it claimed, men are 33.5 per cent more likely to use internet as compared to women. In low-income countries, the average gap wides to 80.2 per cent. Whereas, in high-income nations, the gap is reduced to as low as 3.7 per cent.

According to Facebook, there are roughly 3.8 billion people in the world who are disconnected to the internet due to lack of infrastructure and resources.

The EIU report ranking India at the 47th spot also comes in the backdrop of a recent study on 4G services in the world. India fared worst among those nations which have introduced 4G networks, with even less developed countries like Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan recording better 4G speed and connectivity.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 27, 2018 06:22 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).