Smartphone stats by country
Have you ever wonder just which countries boast the greatest levels of smartphone ownership, usage and penetration?
An updated version of this article focusing on smartphone penetration can be found here.
To date, it’s estimated that there are roughly 2 billion smartphone users in the market (1.91 billion to be exact), with that number expected to increase another 12% in 2016 to top 2.16 billion people globally. That means that for the first time (possibly in history) more than one-quarter of the world's population will all carry a similar device.
The growth of smartphone devices can be attributed to a number of factors. Technological innovation, improved usability, increased accessibility, but for many the growth has been heavily attributed to a decrease in price.
The era of inexpensive or ‘Budget-Friendly’ smartphones has greatly opened the doors for mobile adoption in emerging markets. When smartphones first entered the market, their price (closer to the $1000 mark) made it difficult for consumers to justify the purchasing decision. But now the dramatic price drop of the smartphone is felt largely to be the reason for its growth over the past two years in less developed countries.
Heavy growth has been noticed in the Asia-Pacific ring, where global powerhouses like China (500 million smartphones), Japan (57 million) and Indonesia (52 million) set the standard for smartphone adoption. India, of course also plays a significant role, with a population volume that demands respect.
India has a huge smartphone market of 167 million, with the number predicted to grow past 200 million by 2016. What is interesting to note though is India's smartphone penetration level, coming in last of our current list at 13%.
The further expansion of internet capabilities have also significantly contributed to the growth and popularity of these pocket-friendly devices with further development expected to help with the growth and adoption of the smartphone in developing countries. Meanwhile, in mature, established markets, smartphones are quickly shifting the paradigm for consumer media usage and proving the need for marketers to become more mobile-centric.
In terms of penetration, it’s the UK who takes the crown (in this data set) at 64%, closely followed by the US with 57%, and Germany at 54%.
The mobile has already become the most used technological device in the world, and the smartphone is fast becoming the most dominant technological device to be seen since the mobiles inception. Countless devices have already felt the wrath of the smartphone and with greater advances set to push its growth, this dominance will only continue with time.
To make it clearer, the following infographic segments this dataset taken from eMarketer by ownership first and foremost (that explains the 1 - 10 ranking), then adds the population and penetration levels of each selected country (for scope). We hope you enjoy.
Smartphone Ownership, Usage and Penetration
