Smartphone unit sales worldwide 2018-2020, by region

In 2018, more smartphones were sold in Greater China than any other region in the world at over 420 million units. As the annual global smartphone sales have plateaued at around 1.5 billion units in recent years, only China and other emerging countries in Asia are still showing growth. The potential for growth in China is reflected in the country's smartphone penetration rate, as currently, only around half of the population is using a smartphone.

Americas and Europe stagnating

Sales in the Americas region and Europe are predicted to decrease in the upcoming years, with the largest drop in smartphone sales in 2019 predicted for Western Europe and North America. In both of these regions, smartphone sales are expected to decrease by around 8 million units in 2019 compared to the previous year.

Africa and Middle East with modest growth

In contrast to the decreasing markets in Europa and the Americas, smartphone sales are expected to increase in Sub-Saharan countries and North Africa as well as the Middle East from 2018 to 2020. Shipments to the Middle East and Africa have been steadily growing since 2013. Drivers for the growth in these markets are the still low smartphone penetration and the average selling price for smartphones that is only half of the average price in North America.