India
- GDP nominal: 2,048 billion USD
- Population: 1.2 billion
- Unemployment rate: 3.5%
- Ease-of-doing-business rank: 103th
The Economy of India is the 7th largest in the world by nominal GDP and the 3rd largest by purchasing power parity (PPP). India's economy became the world's fastest growing major economy from the last quarter of 2014, replacing the People's Republic of China.
The long-term growth prospective of the Indian economy is positive due to its young population, healthy savings and investment rates, and increasing integration into the global economy. India also topped the World Bank’s growth outlook for 2015-16 for the first time with the economy having grown 7.6% in 2015-16 and expected to grow 7.7-8.0% in 2016-17.
India’s domestic Retail market is worth 600 billion USD in 2015 and is one of world's fastest growing E-commerce markets.
India is home to world's 3rd largest billionaires pool with 111 billionaires in 2016 and 4th largest number of ultra-high-net-worth households that have more than 100 million dollars.
Direct Selling in India
- GDP Growth Constant USD 2014: 7.3%
- YoY Industry Growth Constant USD 2014: 4%
The Indian Direct Selling industry had started to develop in the latter part of the 1990’s with the arrival of major international companies.
The industry has been growing at 12.3% CAGR, and there is still room for growth as major local and international companies are entering rural areas, which accounts for 70% of the Indian population.
Direct Selling is a fantastic way to empower women in a country where female participation in the workforce is still low (27% in 2014) compared to other Asian economies (China and Thailand: 65%; Indonesia and the Philippines: 50%).
With the second largest population in the world, the number of Direct Sellers was only about 4.2 million in 2014 which represents only 0.3% of the Indian population. India is one of the markets that has the highest growth potential for the Direct Selling industry and as such the Indian Direct Selling Association (IDSA, founded in 1996) should continue its efforts to professionalize the industry by implementing rules and regulations in order to protect consumers and educate Direct Sellers.
Sources: ASENSHIA, World Bank, WFDSA, Euromonitor, Wikipedia
CAGR: Compound Annual Growth Rate expressed in Constant USD 2014, between 2011 and 2014
