The number of active mobile phones being used around the world will outnumber earth’s entire population in 2014, bbc.co.uk reports.
According to new research from the International Telecoms Union (ITU), the number of mobiles in use will surpass the seven billion mark in early 2014.
As it stands, the earth’s population stands at 7.1 billion, whilst mobile subscriptions total 6.8 billion. This is despite only a third of the population actually being online.
Europe has the highest penetration of mobile use, with 75 per cent of its inhabitants owning a connected device. The Americas follow behind in second with 61 per cent, whilst Asia manages just 32 per cent. Lowest is Africa, where penetration is just 16 per cent.
This proves beneficial for European brands turning to bulk SMS for their marketing campaigns, as it proves there is a large – and growing – network of users that is showing no sign of slowing just yet.
Commenting on the findings, director of the ITU telecommunication development bureau, Brahima Sanou, told deccanherald.com: “Every day we are moving closer to having almost as many mobile cellular subscriptions as people on earth.
“The mobile revolution is ‘m-powering’ people in developing countries by delivering ICT applications in education, health, government, banking, environment and business.”
