Authors
Tamal Basu Roy, Priya Das, Subhadeep Saha
Published in
BMC public health. Jul 15, 2026. Epub Jul 15, 2026.
Abstract
Despite rapid digitization in India, internet usage of rural women still remains lagged behind. The rural-urban divide in internet usage particularly among the women of reproductive age (15-49 years) though being a key concern to resolve, yet limited evidence exists on the factors driving this disparity. This study addresses the research gap by examining the magnitude of the rural-urban gap and identifying the underlying contributors to this gap.
This study utilized information collected from 105,373 women aged 15 to 49 years, (Rural-79,012 and urban-26,361) from the fifth round of of National family Health survey (NFHS-5), conducted in India during 2019-2021. Initially, descriptive statistics, bivariate analysis and logistic regression were performed. To quantify the factors contributing to the rural-urban gap in internet usage among women, non-linear Fairlie decomposition analysis was applied.
A substantial and persistent rural-urban gap in internet use was observed among the women of reproductive age. The largest share of the gap was explained by household wealth status (45.75%), followed by household ownership of a mobile phone (27.28%) and women's educational attainment (21.61%).
Addressing rural-urban divide in internet use requires a holistic and intersectional approach. Policies must extend beyond improving connectivity to actively dismantling the social and economic barriers that inhibit women's digital participation irrespective of the place of residence.
PMID:
42458390
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 16 Jul 2026.
Read full publication at:
Please sign in
to see all details.
Advertisement
Stats
- Recommendations n/a n/a positive of 0 vote(s)
- Views 4
- Comments 0