The Model Index
World/Asia
AI access, cost and use · Southern Asia · Asia · data read 1 Oct 2026

India

In India, a $20-a-month AI plan costs 41% of the median living standard, 52 times the share it takes in the United States; for more than 99% of people it is over a tenth of what they live on. Claude, OpenAI's API and Gemini are all officially offered. 70% of people use the internet, and Claude use per working-age person is 0.30 times the world average.

41%of the median living standard for a $20 planAsia median 13% · United States 0.79%
99%+of people for whom the plan is over a tenth of their living standardabout 1.46 bn people
3of 3leading services officially offeredClaude · OpenAI · Gemini
70%of people use the internetworld 74% · 1.46 bn people

The figuresIndia

People1.46 bn
Median living standard$587a year per person · consumption
A $20 plan takes41%of that · 52× the US share
For whom it is over a tenth99%+of people
Survey2023revalued at 2025 prices
GNI per person$2,760plan is 8.7% of it
Claude use per person0.30×world average = 1
Notable AI models built here21 since 2023

Officially offered here3 of 3

Run it yourself →
Claude · claude.ai appYes
OpenAI · APIYes
Gemini · web appYes

From each lab's own published list: Anthropic's Claude.ai countries, OpenAI's API countries and Google's Gemini web app countries. Not listed means not officially served; open-weight models can be run anywhere.

Against Asia and the worldregional figures are medians or population-weighted

MeasureIndiaAsiaWorld
A $20 plan ÷ median living standard41%13%9.9%
People for whom it is over a tenth99%+72%63%
Plan price ÷ GNI per person8.7%3.9%2.9%
People using the internet70%76%74%
Claude use per working-age person0.30×0.43×1.00×
Notable AI models built22831,256

What it is used forIndia against the world

Report ↗
India
Work 44%
Personal 36%
Coursework 20%
The world
Work 42%
Personal 41%
Coursework 17%
Share of the world's Claude use7.1%18% of the world's people
Work44%world 42%
Personal36%world 41%
Coursework20%world 17%
Handed over to the model (automation)52%world 48%

Anthropic Economic Index, May 2026: Claude.ai conversations by country. One product from one lab, so read it as a signal of who is using frontier models, not a census.

What people make with itshare of conversations

Explanation or answer14%
Document or report12%
Advice or recommendation10%
App or website7%

The most common things people in India ask Claude to produce.

NeighboursSouthern Asia · lightest burden first

CountryPeopleOnline$20 plan ÷ median living standardOver a tenthClaude use per personOfficial lists
Maldives530k85%5.9%14%not reported3 of 3
Bhutan797k91%14%75%not reported3 of 3
Sri Lanka22 m55%27%92%0.56×3 of 3
Nepal30 m46%27%96%0.41×3 of 3
Bangladesh176 m53%31%97%0.11×3 of 3
India1.46 bn70%41%99%+0.30×3 of 3
Pakistan255 m57%55%99%0.31×3 of 3
Iran92 m85%no estimate–not reported0 of 3
Afghanistan44 m16%no estimate–not reported1 of 3
All countries →

The foundationsIndia against the world

World Bank ↗
People using the internet
70%world 74%
People with electricity
100%world 92%
Mobile subscriptions per 100 people
79world 112
Fixed broadband lines per 100 people
3.2world 20.1
Enrolled in university-level education
34%world 44%
Research spending, share of GDP
0.65%world 2.6%
Researchers per million people
259world 1,652
Secure internet servers per million people
1,212world 16,381

The latest World Bank figure for each measure. The tick marks the world figure.

A $20-a-month plan ($240 a year, US list price) against the median household living standard per person in each country. The median is from the latest national household survey (World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform), revalued from 2021 purchasing-power dollars into US dollars at recent prices and official exchange rates, assuming real living standards have not changed since the survey. Some surveys measure income and others consumption, which includes food people grow and housing they own, so this is a living standard, not cash to spare. Countries with no survey since 2015 or no defensible exchange rate are left blank.

World Bank household surveys ↗Anthropic countries ↗OpenAI countries ↗Gemini countries ↗Anthropic Economic Index ↗Epoch AI notable models ↗