Phones in 2012: the year in numbers

Huge numbers.
What’s more interesting is that for a lot of those people the phone was also a portal to the Internet, a first camera, and so on, and so on.
GLOBAL MOBILE NUMBERS
- Human population . . . . . . . . . 7.1 Billion
- Mobile subscriptions . . . . . . . 6.7 Billion is 94% per capita
- Unique Mobile Users . . . . . . . 4.3 Billion is 61% per capita
- Handsets in use . . . . . . . . . . 5.3 Billion
- Smartphones . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.3 Billion is 25% of all handsets
- 3G Connections . . . . . . . . . . 1.3 Billion is 19% of subscriptions and 25% of handsets
- WiFi users on mobile . . . . . . 1.1 Billion is 16% of subscriptions and 21% of handsets
- SMS active users . . . . . . . . . 5.6 Billion is 83% of subscriptions
- Voice call users . . . . . . . . . . 5.4 Billion is 81% of subscriptions
- Camera users . . . . . . . . . . . 4.8 Billion is 72% of subscriptions
- Mobile Ad audience . . . . . . . . 4.0 Billion is 60% of subscriptions, is 56% of planet
- MMS active users . . . . . . . . . 2.9 Billion is 43% of subscriptions and 60% of cameraphone users
- News active users . . . . . . . . . 2.3 Billion is 34% of subscriptions
- Browser (including WAP) . . . . 2.1 Billion is 31% of subscriptions and 84% of all internet users
- Premium SMS . . . . . . . . . . . 1.9 Billion is 28% of subscriptions and 34% of all SMS users
- HTML browser 'real internet' . . 1.5 Billion is 22% of subscriptions and 60% of all internet users
- Search on mobile . . . . . . . . . 1.3 Billion is 19% of subscriptions and 62% of mobile browser users
- Gamers (download/browse) . . 1.2 Billion is 18% of subscribers and 57% of mobile browser users
- Apps downloaders . . . . . . . . . 1.2 Billion is 18% of subscribers
- Social Networking . . . . . . . . . 1.1 Billion is 16% of subscribers and 53% of mobile browser users
- Ringback tone subscribers . . . 1.0 Billion is 15% of subscribers
source: Tomi Ahonen Almanac 2013