The Real Cost of Owning a Mobile Phone Around the World

Mobile phones have become an indispensable tool of communication not only in the developed world, but also in developing countries. While eight in ten people in the developing world now own a mobile phone, the price of being connected varies greatly around the world.

While the relative cost of operating a mobile phone amounts to less than one percent of the average monthly income (estimated as Gross National Income per capita) in richer parts of the world, it is much higher in lesser developed regions. Based on data published by the International Telecommunication Union, today’s chart shows the real cost of operating a mobile phone around the world.