Global smartphone subscriber growth

Smartphone subscriber growth remains rapid, with an estimated 1.5 billion subscribers, 31 percent growth from 2012 to 2013, and a global penetration of 21 percent, according to Informa, as reported by Mary Meeker’s digital report. By far the highest number of smartphone subscriptions are in China, with 354 million, followed by the United States, with 219 million.

However, the penetration of smartphone subscriptions as a percentage of all mobile subscriptions is highest in Japan, with 76 percent, followed by Korea with 67 percent, Canada with 63 percent, Australia and Sweden with 60 percent, Hong Kong with 59 percent
and the United States and the Netherlands with 58 percent.

Growth of smartphone subscriptions is most swift in Taiwan, with a 60 percent year-over year growth, followed by 52 percent for India, 43 percent for Mexico and 40 percent for Iran.

The data set is a part of a collection of 500 revenue and usership trends in mobile, social, Internet, tablet, video and other digital categories, published in the 200-page Global Digital Media Trendbook 2013. GDMT, in its eight year, is to be published by World Newsmedia Network, a not-for-profit media research company, in September 2013. To subscribe to the PDF report and/or the tablet edition, go to www.wnmn.org, or contact mstone@wnmn.org.