Number of global mobile subscriptions 1993-2022

As of 2022, there were a reported 8.6 billion mobile phone subscriptions worldwide, up from 8.4 billion the previous year. The number of subscriptions exceeded eight billion for the first time in 2019.

More smartphones than people

With a global population of 7.9 billion as of 2022, the number of smartphone subscriptions now significantly exceeds the number of people on the planet. This comes off the back of an extraordinary period of growth. The penetration rate broke 100 in the United States in 2014, and has eceeded 100 in countries including the United Kingdom (UK) and Australia for several years longer.

In other continents, such as Africa, the penetration rate has also increased steadily. Cameroon, for example, increased by 123 percent from 2010 to 2020, with 95.1 mobile subscriptions per 100 residents as of 2020, and the rate exceeded 114 in Kenya in 2020.

Moving towards 5G

5G subscriptions are forecast to increase worldwide from 2022 to 2027. The number of 5G mobile subscriptions worldwide is forecast to exceed 4.3 billion by 2027, with over 1.7 billion subscriptions expected in North East Asia alone.